British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to question 113431, tabled on 19 December 2006, by the hon. Member for Romford, what criteria are taken into account in deciding to make ministerial visits to British overseas territories and Crown dependencies.

Gareth Thomas: Many factors are considered in determining ministerial priorities for travel to partner countries and territories. These include the size of DFID's programme, the justification for engagement at ministerial rather than at official level and the practicality of accommodating a visit alongside other ministerial and parliamentary duties. DFID has no responsibilities for the Crown dependencies.

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process.

Hilary Benn: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that "final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of national statistics" rests with the Head of Profession for statistics in each department. In reaching their decisions, Heads of Profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the 'National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices'.
	Copies of the code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp

Visitors Entrance

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the visitors entrance to the Palace of Westminster is expected to be completed; what the reasons are for the delay in its construction; what the total cost of the project will be; whether additional costs will be incurred as a result of the delay; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1791-92W. The House of Commons Commission will receive a further report on progress at the end of this month.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Leader of the House how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Jack Straw: For the calendar year 2006 the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons answered 95 per cent. of correspondence from hon. Members that required a reply, within our 15 working day deadline. We have no outstanding correspondence from hon. Members received in the 2005-06 Session.
	The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Leader of the Houseon what dates Ministers in his Office made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: Our records do not cover the entire period requested. The records available show that there have been two occasions that Ministers from the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons have made official visits to the London borough of Newham. I visited Stratford on 20 June 2006 to view the Olympic park site; and the late right hon. Robin Cook MP, when Leader of the House, visited Newham on 2 May 2002.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Leader of the House on what dates the Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: Our records do not cover the period requested. However, the Leader of the Lords and Lord President of the Council spoke at a Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS event in Tower Hamlets on22 May 2006 and the UNESCO launch of the 'Education For All: Global Monitoring Report 2006' in Tower Hamlets on 9 November 2005.

Trade Balance

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK trade balance was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The UK trade balance was£4.7 billion in deficit in November 2006 (the most recent period for which figures are available from the ONS), up from £4.1 billion in October 2006, as a small rise in exports (up 0.5 per cent.) was outweighed by a larger rise in imports (up 2.3 per cent.).
	Total UK exports (goods + services) were £326 billion in 2005—up 9 per cent. on 2004. There was a strong performance in both goods (up 11 per cent.) and services (up 6 per cent.).
	The stock of inward investment in the UK rose to £483 billion at the end of 2005, a rise of £119 billion over the stock at the end of 2004.
	The UK is the second most popular destination for inward investment in the world (behind the US).

Minimum Wage

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to prevent employers paying below the minimum wage.

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to prevent employers paying below the minimum wage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government publicise details of the minimum wage every time it increases and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) follow up all complaints about underpayment. HMRC also target enforcement action on low paying employers and take tough action against those that are found to be non-compliant.

Corus

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with Corus and steel trade unions on the take-over of Corus.

Ian McCartney: Although there have been no specific meetings with Ministers, the company and trade unions have kept DTI officials and advisors up to date as the situation has developed. And of course further meetings will be held if requested by Corus and the unions.

York: Science City

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance the Government have provided to York as a science city.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 1998 Science City York has secured funding of £3.5 million. The funding sources include the City of York council, European funding. Learning and Skills Council and Yorkshire Forward.
	The main change since my right hon. Friend asked the same question on 8 June 2006 is the addition of £470,000 to recruit and meet the three-year salary costs (2007 to 2009) and administrative support for the new post of chief executive, Science City York.
	A further £2.63 million is allocated from Northern Way.

Bank Holidays

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to increase the number of bank holidays.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer my hon. Friend to question number 9 answered today.

Emissions Trading Scheme

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he had with  (a) management in the UK steel industry,  (b) trade unions and  (c) the European Commission on the impact of phase 2 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the UK steel industry.

Malcolm Wicks: This matter was discussed on21 June 2006 when I met with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Steel and Metal-Related Industries, at which UK steel companies were represented. On 13 July 2006, I met a delegation from the Metals Forum—including a representative of the trade association UK Steel—and EU ETS phase 2 allocations was among a range of issues covered. On 17 October 2006 my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Derek Wyatt) was present when I discussed EU ETS phase 2 allocations with senior management from Thamesteel. This subject has also been reviewed at meetings of the Business Energy Forum, which is jointly chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Darling) and Richard Lambert of the Confederation of British Industry. There have been no meetings on the impact of this issue on the steel industry with the trade unions or the European Commission.

Air Travel Emissions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of annual departmental emissions from air travel is, broken down by Departments.

Ian Pearson: The table shows estimated annual emissions of carbon dioxide from air travel attributable to Government Departments. These are estimates based on air travel spending and/or distance travelled, collected for the purpose of calculating payments into the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund(1). Some departmental figures include air travel emissions attributable to associated agencies. When applied to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund, departmental figures will be multiplied by two to take into account the additional impact of emissions at altitude.
	(1) The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport, operate their own offsetting schemes.
	
		
			  Department  Tonnes of carbon dioxide per year 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 14,243 
			 Department for International Development 8,676 
			 Ministry of Defence 7,583 
			 HM Revenue and Customs 4,155 
			 Department for Trade and Industry 3,404 
			 Home Office 2,362 
			 Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) 1,997 
			 Treasury 1,662 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1,350 
			 Department of Health 955 
			 Cabinet Office 818 
			 Department for Transport 520 
			 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 340 
			 Office of National Statistics 190 
			 Department for Education and Skills 148 
			 Law Officers Department Crown Prosecution Service 228 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 151 
			 Law Officers Department Serious Fraud Office 133 
			 Department for Constitutional Affairs 139 
			 Office of Government Commerce (OGC) 111 
			 Export Credits Guarantee Department 128 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 80 
			 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 30 
			 Government Actuary's Department 23 
			 Debt Management Office 4 
			 Total 49,430 
		
	
	Defra recognises some of the inherent difficulties in calculating carbon dioxide emissions from financial expenditure, and is actively seeking to improve carbon dioxide reporting mechanisms across Government.
	The recent Pan Government Travel contract (led by the DWP, OGC and Defra) had sustainability as a stringent criterion. My Department, in partnership with our travel service provider, has developed carbon reporting based on business mileages, rather than financial expenditure. This has improved the reliability of data streams and enabled strategic analysis.
	Through the work of the Defra-led Government Carbon Offsetting Fund Interdepartmental Group and the Civil Service Travel Group, Defra is promoting the use of the collaborative Pan Government Travel Contract. We are also sharing best practice across the Government Estate.

Bovine Animal Seizures

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Minister authorised the decision to attempt to seize bovine animal UK OX0564 00177 on 10 January 2007; and on what date that decision was taken.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 17 January 2007
	My letter of 15 November 2006 advised the hon. Member that I considered the animal in question to be a bovine spongiform encephalopathy cohort and that the state veterinary service would make arrangements to slaughter it. The law requires cohorts to be slaughtered as soon as possible.
	A decision when to remove an animal for slaughter is an operational one for the state veterinary service. Given the public interest generated about this animal the SVS informed Ministers of their intention to remove the animal on 8 January 2007. They were under no obligation to do so.

Climate Change Bill

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter of 11 October 2006 from the hon. Member for Warley on the Climate Change Bill.

Ian Pearson: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 7 January 2007. I apologise for the delay.

Compensation Payments

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much in compensation payments was paid by his Department in 200506; and what the reason for the payment was in each case.

Barry Gardiner: The following amounts were paid in compensation by the Department in 200506:
	
		
			  Litigation 
			  £ 
			 Employment  
			 Dismissal  
			 Case 1 17,000 
			 Case 2 2,683.36 
			 Case 3 19,000 
			 Case 4 44,000 
			 Case 5 4,468 
			 Case 6 19,767 
			 Case 7 6,870 
			 Case 8 (1)7,593 
			 Case 9 (2)4,000 
			   
			 Personal injury  
			 Case 1 750 
			 Case 2 3,000 
			 Case 3 3,000 
			 Case 4 3,000 
			 Case 5 400 
			 Case 6 3,310 
			 Case 7 65,436.90 
			   
			 Rights of way  
			 Case 1 3,500 
			   
			  Foot and Mouth Disease  
			 Claims  
			 Case 1 3,228.50 
			 Case 2 2,526.25 
			   
			 Personal Injury  
			 Case 1 40,000 
			   
			 Arbitration  
			 Case l 81,678.75 
			 Case 2 25,000 
			 Case 3 35,000 
			 Case 4 3,400 
			 Case 5 36,177 
			 Case 6 181,843.99 
			   
			 Slaughter Premium  
			 Liquidated claims 51,364.26 
			 Unliquidated claims 89,627.86 
			 (1 )Settlement prior to ET £6,000 (2 )Settlement prior to ET

Departmental Budget Review

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the likely effect will be of the conclusions of his Department's summer budget review on funds available to the Institute for Grasslands and Environmental Research in each of the next three years.

Barry Gardiner: No ongoing research projects at the Institute for Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) have been affected by the recent budgetary reductions. Defra allocated over £150 million to research and development (R&D) in 2006-07, reflecting the value the Department places on research. However R&D spending is not ring fenced and cannot be protected from other competing pressures.
	Defra funded research at IGER in 2006-07 is currently £5.4 million, with ongoing spend for 2007-08 and 2008-09 at £2.1 million and £1.1 million respectively. Negotiations are progressing for further new research to start at IGER during 2007-08 and subsequently.

Departmental Energy Efficiency

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 271W, on departmental energy efficiency, what steps he is taking to spread best practice to other Departments and public bodies.

Ian Pearson: The Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust are Government funded bodies that are working to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
	These bodies work with public sector organisations such as local authorities, schools, NHS and Government Departments. They spread best practice in both the public and the private sector.
	For example, in 2006 the Department of Health in partnership with the Carbon Trust, published a guide which provides best practice to ensure that everyone involved in managing, procuring and using healthcare buildings and equipment considered the implications of energy use and can be found at:
	http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/Publicsites/cScape.CT.PublicationsOrdering/PublicationAudit.aspx

Departmental Energy Policy

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to make his Department carbon neutral.

Ian Pearson: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will meet the commitment for a carbon neutral central Government estate by 2012 through a package of measures, which include reducing emissions, using renewable energy and only offsetting what cannot be eliminated.
	Defra is currently working with the Carbon Trust to implement a carbon management programme which will prioritise activity to maximise energy and carbon savings. The programme will look to develop a systematic approach to carbon management and assist in the reducing carbon emissions through operational improvements, reduced energy costs, staff awareness and monitoring initiatives. This activity goes hand in hand with Defra's own energy efficiency programme, which is focusing on monitoring energy consumption across the estate and identifying opportunities for better managing energy use.

Eastern Region Flood Defences

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons are for the reductions in the budget of the Eastern Region Flood Defences from 2006-07 to 2007-08.

Ian Pearson: Defra will provide £435.7 million to the Environment Agency in 2007-08 for Flood Risk Management, almost £23 million more than was available in 2006-07.
	The agency allocates funding to Regional Flood Defence Committees for both new capital schemes and to maintain existing defences on the basis of national priorities to ensure that the funding is spent to optimum effect. This inevitably means that the allocation to each Regional Flood Defence Committee is likely to change year on year, particularly as capital schemes are completed.
	During the current year, major schemes in the Anglian Eastern area have completed, notably Canvey and Tilbury. A wide range of capital schemes—such as Broadlands and Eastern Broad—will be taken forward in the agency's Anglian Eastern area in 2007-08.

Environment Agency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of how much public money was lost through financial mis-management at the Environment Agency in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 17 January 2007
	The National Audit Office have confirmed in the last two financial years (and PricewaterhouseCoopers before that (2001-02 to 2003-04)) that in all material aspects the expenditure and income for the Environment Agency have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.

Flooding: Insurance

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government have contingency plans in place to ensure that coastal communities at risk from rising sea levels and flooding can access property insurance in theevent of the private sector withdrawing insurance coverage.

Ian Pearson: The Government continue to work with the Association of British Insurers to maintain the widespread availability of flood risk insurance. Insurance cover remains broadly available to households in areas at risk of flooding in accordance with the Association's 'Statement of Principles' which is published on their website. I met the Association in November and they confirmed there are no plans to withdraw from the Statement of Principles.

Meat Imports

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the volume and value of beef imported from Brazil was in each of the last five years, broken down by state.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 17 January 2007
	The volume and value of beef imports (including meat and offal preparations) from Brazil to the United Kingdom since 2001 are shown as follows:
	
		
			   £000  Tonnes 
			 2001 134,030 92,681 
			 2002 131,709 100,573 
			 2003 123,255 97,590 
			 2004 134,113 93,619 
			 2005 133,163 85,752 
			 2006(1) 128,677 70,724 
			 (1) January to October. 
		
	
	These figures were obtained from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for all consignments which have been declared through the required channels by both exporters and importers, in accordance with European Union (EU) regulations.
	Due to the EU tracing systems for all trade, it is not possible to break down these figures by states within third countries.

Natural England

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the implications of changes to Natural England's budget are for the educational elements of the Higher Level Scheme.

Barry Gardiner: pursuant to the reply, 11 January 2007, Official Report, c. 677
	My Answer gave the year of Natural England's budget as 2006-07. This was incorrect and should have read 2007-08. The rest of the answer remains correct and is detailed in full as follows:
	Natural England's budget for 2007-08 was announced on 22 December as £169.59 million. This represents core funding, largely in relation to running costs. The Higher Level agri-environment scheme is funded under separate arrangements to support the UK's Rural Development Programmes.

Rat Population

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information he collects on the money spent by sewerage undertakers on control of rat populations; and what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that control.

Ian Pearson: The Department does not collect information on monies spent by sewerage undertakers on the control of rat populations, which is not oneof their statutory functions. Nor does it makeregular assessments of the effectiveness of sewerage undertakers' control of rat populations in sewers.

Rat Population

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken as a result of his Department's review of liaison arrangements between water companies and local authorities in relation to sewer baiting for rats; and what further measures are planned.

Ian Pearson: A joint protocol, published in 1999 by the Local Government Association and Water UK, set out arrangements for closer working relationships between water companies and local authorities on rodent infestations in sewers. Sewer baiting policy is a matter for individual water companies.
	The last review, undertaken in 2003 did not receive sufficient responses to enable any clear conclusions to be drawn from the information provided.
	I am not aware of any representations from local authorities or water companies requiring further guidance.

Recycling

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the value for money of funding provided to the Waste and Resources Action programme for the campaign Recycle Now.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) was allocated a total of£11 million for a two year period to run a national campaign on recycling. Recycle Now was launched in September 2004.
	A review of the campaign's value for money showed that it has cost 51 pence per household, which is within the range of costs reported in other EU member states for similar campaigns.
	An independent survey carried out by marketing groups has shown that the Recycle Now television adverts generate very strong public recognition and, therefore, compare favourably to successful commercial advertisements with significantly larger budgets.
	Work carried out by NOP on behalf of WRAP indicates an increase in committed recyclers, from45 per cent. to 57 per cent., over the period from April 2004 to March 2006. This represents an additional five million additional committed recyclers (that is, those who regard recycling as important, those who recycle even if it requires additional effort, and who recycle a lot or everything that they can). The campaign therefore exceeded the 55 per cent. committed recycler target set out in WRAP'S 2004-06 business plan.
	The Government firmly believes that public participation is key to increasing recycling and waste minimisation and in taking forward a policy of sustainable waste management. We have seen household waste recycling rates increase to 27 per cent. in 2005-06 (in combination with increased levels of recycling infrastructure). This exceeds the 25 per cent. target and represents nearly a fourfold increase since 1997.

Rights of Way

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the accessibility of rights of way routes to disabled people.

Barry Gardiner: In 2005 Natural England produced a framework which aims to provide clear and detailed advice for countryside managers on how to improve access opportunities for disabled people. It guides land managers, land owners and others, through a process for working more actively with disabled people. This can be found on the Natural England website at:
	www.countryside.gov.uk/Images/Inclusive_tcm2-27716.pdf
	Under section 69 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, highway authorities must consider the needs of disabled people when authorising the erection of stiles and gates or other works on footpaths or bridleways. A local authority may also enter into agreements with owners, occupiers or lessees of land to improve stiles, gates or other structures to benefit disabled people.
	The Welsh Assembly Government commenced section 69 in December 2006 and are currently consulting on statutory guidance which is available online at:
	http://new.wales.gov.uk/consultations/currentconsultation/envandcouncurrcons/?lang=en
	DEFRA plans to consult on the section 69 statutory guidance shortly.

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process.

Barry Gardiner: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that 'final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of National Statistics' rests with the Head of Profession for Statistics in each department. In reaching their decisions, Heads of Profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the 'National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices'.
	Copies of the Code and its 12 supporting Protocols are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp

Thames Barrier

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times the Thames Barrier has been raised in each year since its construction.

Ian Pearson: Environment Agency figures show that since its construction, the Thames Barrier has been closed to prevent flooding during the winter flood season (generally October to April) on 95 occasions as follows:
	
		
			   Total 
			 1982-83 1 
			 1983-84 0 
			 1984-85 0 
			 1985-86 1 
			 1986-87 1 
			 1987-88 0 
			 1988-89 1 
			 1989-90 4 
			 1990-91 1 
			 1991-92 1 
			 1992-93 4 
			 1993-94 7 
			 1994-95 4 
			 1995-96 4 
			 1996-97 1 
			 1997-98 1 
			 1998-99 2 
			 1999-2000 6 
			 2000-01 24 
			 2001-02 4 
			 2002-03 20 
			 2003-04 1 
			 2004-05 4 
			 2005-06 3 
			 2006-07(1) 0 
			 Total 95 
			 (1) To date. 
		
	
	At present the Thames Barrier is closed on average three to four times a year. In extreme conditions more frequent closures have been necessary to protect London from flooding—such as during the winter of 2000-01, when the barrier was closed 24 times and January 2003, when it was closed 19 times. These unusual occurrences were generally the result of continued high freshwater flows which only required a smaller tidal surge to necessitate a closure of the barrier.

Veterinary Surgeons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what role the Department plays in the regulation of veterinary surgeons, including suspension and removal.

Ben Bradshaw: The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 designates the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) as the body responsible for regulating the professional education and conduct of veterinary surgeons in the UK.
	DEFRA is considering ways in which the current regulatory framework might be modernised.

Warm Front

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many quotations for boiler replacements under theWarm Front initiative exceeded the individual grant available in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and (d) 2006.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 10 January 2007
	As the Warm Front scheme developed, new (raised) grant levels have been introduced to keep abreast of changes in the market place and Warm Front's evolving policy framework. In the interests of accuracy, the various grant levels have been separately identified.
	The proportion of boiler replacements which exceeded the grant maxima in the relevant scheme years are:
	
		
			  2003-04 
			  Grant limit  Boiler replacements costing above grant maxima (percentage) 
			 £1,500 11 
		
	
	Due to the varying nature of work involved in boiler replacement jobs, it is inevitable that some cases exceed the grant maximum, and 11 per cent. for year 2003-04 is deemed a reasonable level.
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Grant limit  Boiler replacements costing above grant maxima (percentage) 
			 £1,500 88 
			 £2,500 42 
		
	
	Small increases in labour costs and material prices resulted in a large percentage increase of boiler replacements exceeding the grant maxima. This level was not deemed acceptable and, as such, a legislative change to raise the grant level was identified as the necessary course of action.
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  Grant limit  Boiler replacements costing above grant maxima (percentage) 
			 £1,500 97 
			 £2,500 84 
			 £2,700 29 
		
	
	2005-06 witnessed the transition between the first phase of Warm Front, and the current phase. As part of this transition, prices for materials and labour were harmonised across regions throughout England. Warm Front policy was also developed and previous Warm Front customers (from the first phase of the scheme) found themselves able to re-apply for the scheme and qualify for a greater level of assistance. Indications are that a significant proportion of the 29 per cent. of boiler replacements exceeding the £2,700 maximum had already received a portion of their available grant under the first phase of the scheme.
	
		
			  2006-07 (current) 
			  Grant limit  Boiler replacements costing above grant maxima (percentage) 
			 £2,700 30 
		
	
	Where heating measures alone are recommended, around 70 per cent. of cases can be fully funded by Warm Front. 40 per cent. of those cases that exceed the grant maxima have previously received assistance from the scheme—and thus are seeking grant support with less money in the household account.

Water Companies

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on increasing the five year periodic review cycle in respect of setting price limits for water companies; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat's 2006 consultation 'Setting water and sewerage prices, is five years right?' sought views on a number of issues including the length of time between price reviews.
	Over 30 responses were received from water industry stakeholders. A summary of responses is included in Ofwat's document 'A sustainable water industry—To PR09 and beyond'. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House and is also available on Ofwat's website at:
	http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/SustainableWaterInd011106.pdf/$FILE/SustainableWaterInd011106.pdf.
	My Department continues to work closely with Ofwat and other water industry stakeholders in preparation for the 2009 periodic review of price limits.

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including online, advertorials and advertising features, in the latest year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: The Department did not use  The Guardian in fiscal year 2005-06 for advertising in support of our THINK! road safety or Continuous Registration campaigns.
	 The Guardian has been used for recruitment advertising. Details, however, are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Air Navigation Order

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will investigate why the consultation co-ordinator for the Department for Transport's proposed amendment of the Air Navigation Order 2005 has not  (a) acknowledged and  (b) responded to correspondence from (i) a constituent of the hon. Member for Strangford and (ii) the hon. Member's constituency office acting on his behalf;
	(2)  what the role is of the consultation co-ordinator for the Department of Transport dealing with the Air Navigation Order 2005;
	(3)  how many letters the consultation co-ordinator has received in response to the consultation on the Air Navigation Order 2005; and how many responses he has made;
	(4)  how many emails the consultation co-ordinator for the Department of Transport dealing with the Air Navigation Order 2005 has received from those concerned with this matter; and how many responses he has sent.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The consultation coordinator, who monitors the Department's compliance with the Government's code of practice on consultation, has received nine letters and 22 emails about the consultation on the Air Navigation Order 2005. I will reply to the hon. Member's letter on this issue shortly, and am arranging for replies to be sent to the other correspondents.

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose is of the pump priming support to which he refers on page 21 of his Department's 2006 annual report.

Stephen Ladyman: £18 million has been earmarked for Transport Innovation Fund pump-priming during the period 2005-06 to 2007-08. The purpose is to support initial scheme development by local transport authorities who are actively considering innovative ways to tackle congestion.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, was in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport came into existence in May 2002 as a result of machinery of government changes.
	Details of ministerial travel is contained in the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W, to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) which refers to the published annual list of overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers which includes the overall cost of all Ministers' overseas travel.
	Three of the Departments seven agencies (HA, VOSA, and GCDA) do not account for overseas travel by civil servants separately from other travel and associated costs. The figure for the central Department and the remaining agencies for 2005-06 is £3,429,740.

East Coast Mainline

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many companies have submitted expressions of interest in bidding for the East Coast Mainline rail franchise; and when he expects to announce the identity of the shortlisted bidders.

Tom Harris: Due to commercial sensitivity it is not the DfT policy to provide the number of companies submitting an expression of interest. The expected announcement of who has been shortlisted will be 9 February 2007.

Government Car Service

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what categories of individuals are permitted to use vehicles from the Government Car Service.

Stephen Ladyman: The Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House, set out who is permitted to have an allocated car and driver provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.
	GCDA's short-term hire and green car services may be used by the civil service and the wider public sector. It is for each Government Department or public body to determine use.

Helicopter Noise

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, column 230W, on helicopter noise, what the conclusions were of the meeting held with representatives of the London Assembly's Environmental Committee to discuss the recommendations in the committee's report, "London in a spin—A review of helicopter noise"; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I held a very constructive and productive meeting with representatives of the London Assembly's Environment Committee. We agreed on two key priorities which were the improvement of data collection with a central database and a clear complaints procedure for the public. The Department will be taking these issues forward in dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority, National Air Traffic Services and the Committee.

Light Dues System

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the value of the Irish subsidy component of the light dues system in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) future financial years.

Stephen Ladyman: The contribution from the General Lighthouse Fund to the provision of aids to navigation in the Republic of Ireland is expected to outturn at around £6.8 million in 2006-07, and is forecast at£7.0 million in 2007-08. The General Lighthouse Authority's corporate planning process does not yet provide for estimates beyond 2007-08.

Motor Scooters

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what limits he imposes on emissions from motor scooters; and if he will take action to remove from public roads the most polluting motor scooters.

Stephen Ladyman: Emission limits for motorcycles and mopeds are set by European Union (EU) Directive 97/24/EC, as amended by 2002/51/EC. These directives set mandatory emission limits for new motorcycles and mopeds. Three successive stages of emissions limits were introduced for motorcycles and two for mopeds. All new machines must now meet the following emissions limits:
	
		
			  g/km 
			   Carbon monoxide  Hydrocarbons  Oxides of nitrogen 
			 Motorcycles 2.0 0.8 0.15 
			 Mopeds 1.0 (1)1.2 
			 (1) HC+NOx 
		
	
	There are no plans to remove particular motorcycles or mopeds from the roads. New vehicle emissions limits combined with normal fleet turnover ensure that higher emitting vehicles are removed from the fleet over time.
	Motorcycles and mopeds continue to be a very small contributor to total road transport emissions.

Oyster Card

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1068-69W, on the Oyster Card, when he expects to receive a report on the work between his Department and Transport for London.

Stephen Ladyman: The report on the Department's research referred to in my previous answer will be published on the Department's website by the end of January. Copies of the report will be placed in both House Libraries.
	Discussions between the Department and Transport for London are ongoing. Transport for London is undertaking a detailed technical scoping study to identify the changes required to ensure all Oyster equipment is ITSO compliant. Publication of this report is a matter for Transport for London.

Public Finance Contracts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) public-private partnerships and  (b) private finance initiative contracts have been entered into by his Department; what assets were transferred to the private sector as part of each deal; what the value of these assets was; what the total cost is of each contract; and what estimate was made of the cost to his Department of traditional procurement over the life of each contract.

Gillian Merron: A table with estimated total capital value, estimated total unitary charges payments and the conventional public sector comparator for PFI projects overseen by the Department for Transport that have reached financial close has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	No assets were transferred to the private sector as part of these deals.
	PFI capital values typically refer to the cost of constructing project assets. The cost information in the table is an estimate of these costs. They are estimated costs because it is a feature of PFI contracts that responsibility for construction risk is transferred to the contractor. The final cost is the responsibility ofthe contractor. The construction cost is an element of the unitary charge payment. The total unitary charge is a projection that covers payment for both the construction cost and other costs that arise from delivering the service. These typically include the cost of maintenance, managing the service, operational activities over the duration of the contract. The estimated unitary charge may vary over the duration of a contract as it reflects changes in the indexation of payments, usage related-payments, contract deductions and service changes.

Road Pricing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to mitigate the effect of the cost of road pricing on low income families; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We are asking local authorities, in preparing proposals for road pricing schemes, to assess the impact on all groups, including those on low incomes, to inform the scheme design.
	No decisions have been taken whether to introduce a national road pricing scheme or how such a scheme should be designed.

Aerial Exercises

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules govern aerial exercises over urban conurbations in the UK by  (a) the Royal Air Force and  (b) the United States Air Force; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 4 December 2006
	Military low flying is not permitted over towns and built up areas with populations of more than 10,000. For this purpose low flying is deemed to be below 1,000 feet minimum separation distance for helicopters and light fixed wing aircraft; and below 2,000 feet minimum separation distance for all other aircraft. Above these heights urban areas may be overflown, unless other airspace restrictions apply; however, air combat training is not permitted over densely populated areas. Permission to fly lower may exceptionally be granted for ceremonial flypasts. These regulations apply to both RAF and United States Air Force aircraft.

Annual Personnel Weapons Test

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average pass rate was of the annual personnel weapons test among part-time service personnel in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is notheld centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armoured Vehicles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first batch of  (a) uparmoured FV430s and  (b) Vector armoured vehicles to be fully operational in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan; and what his estimated timetable is for the delivery of the remaining vehicles.

Adam Ingram: The first batch of BULLDOG vehicles (up-armoured and upgraded FV430s) has arrived in Iraq and is fully operational. On current plans delivery of the full fleet should be completed by May 2007. Currently there are no plans to deploy BULLDOG to Afghanistan.
	On current plans an initial batch of fully operational VECTOR vehicles should be delivered to Afghanistan by February 2007. Delivery of the full fleet should be completed by August 2007. There are currently no plans to deploy VECTOR to Iraq.

Defence Expenditure: Iraq/Afghanistan

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of British involvement in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq since the start of the campaigns.

Adam Ingram: The costs of operations are calculated on a net additional basis and audited figures are published each year in the MOD's annual report and accounts. The total of the annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 was £4,026 million. An estimated cost of £860 million for 2006-07 was included in the winter supplementary estimates published in November which is available in the Library of the House. Final figures will be published in the MOD's annual report and accounts for 2006-07.
	The annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Afghanistan for the years 2001-02 to 2005-06 were £844 million. An estimated cost of£540 million for 2006-07 was included in the winter supplementary estimates published in November. Final figures will be published in the MOD's annual report and accounts for 2006-07.

Mental Health: Service Personnel

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research and modelling his Department is undertaking of future mental health outcomes for personnel deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq; what assessment he has made of the risk of these personnel developing mental health conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 13 December 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on18 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1481-83W.
	With reference to the much larger Kings College Mental Health Research study, the MOD's Veterans Policy Unit has extended the health surveillance study that was launched to look at the physical and psychological outcomes of Op. Telic. This will now also monitor a range of physical and psychological outcomes on Op. Herrick. Data collection will commence in 2007 with results anticipated in 2008.
	Additionally, the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health (ACDMH) has been invited to run a study examining the effectiveness of pre- and post- deployment mental health briefings on the mental health of British forces personnel before, during and after deployment to Afghanistan (Op. Herrick). This study will be run between September 2007 and April 2008, with results anticipated in mid-2008.

Naval Bases

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of running each of the naval bases in the UK was in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: The running costs for HM Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth over the last three years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  HMNB Clyde  HMNB Devonport  HMNB Portsmouth 
			 2003-04 202 179 158 
			 2004-05 189 185 146 
			 2005-06 183 185 151 
		
	
	These figures represent the general site operating costs and include utilities, rates, telephone, maintenance and manpower costs. Direct comparisons from year to year are inexact given the changes to the detailed elements which make up the totals.

Naval Bases

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what job losses are planned at each naval base in the UK.

Adam Ingram: Each of the three naval bases continually reviews the level of manpower required to meet its particular outputs.
	By the end of March 2008 it is anticipated that there will be 86 fewer civilian posts in HM Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport and 36 fewer service personnel. HMNB Clyde anticipates a reduction of 50.5 civilian posts by the end of 2007, service manpower will also be reduced by some 55 occupied and 26 unoccupied posts between 2007 and 2010. No reductions are expected in HMNB Portsmouth.
	The Naval Base Review, which is examining the infrastructure needed to support the Royal Navy, may give rise to further reductions. It is however too soon to say how many or where as the review is at a very early stage, and it is unlikely that the recommendations will be finalised before spring 2007.

Nuclear Weapons Use

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK would be prepared to use nuclear weapons against an  (a) nuclear and  (b) non-nuclear adversary; under what circumstances the UK would use nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: I have nothing to add to paragraph 2-11 and section 3 of the White Paper 'The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent' (Cm 6994) published on 4 December 2006, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. We would only consider using nuclear weapons in self defence and even then only in extreme circumstances.

Number 1 Independent Infantry Company

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records have been kept by his Department in relation to the Number 1 Independent Infantry Company based in Malaya during the second world war.

Derek Twigg: The principal unit records from the second world war were unit war diaries. They are no longer held by MOD, but have been transferred to The National Archives. I can advise that The National Archives holds two files that relate to 1 Independent Infantry Company, under the references WO 172/208 entitled "1 Independent Infantry Company April-September 1941, November 1941-January 1942"; and CAB 106/36 entitled "Account of the Formation, Role, and Operations of No. 1 Independent Infantry Company in Malaya 1941-1942".
	The Department continues to hold personnel records of soldiers who served in the second world war and some are likely to cover individuals who served in1 Independent Infantry Company. Such records are not indexed on a unit basis and it is therefore not possible to identify soldiers from the unit without incurring disproportionate cost.

Royal Navy Expenditure

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected spending by his Department is on the Royal Navy in each of the next five years; what assessment he has made of such spending on  (a) current and  (b) future operational capacity; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The defence budget is not broken down by individual service. Tables two and three of The Government's expenditure plans 2006-07 to 2007-08, Ministry of Defence (Cmd 6822), show the current resource and capital spending plans of the fleet top level budget in the years 2005-06 to 2007-08, this covers the main operating and personnel costs of the Royal Navy. Spending plans for future years are being reviewed in the current departmental planning round and will also be shaped by the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which will set the Defence budget for 2008-09—2010-11.

Royal Navy Personnel

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy personnel are currently serving aboard ship away from home; and what proportion of total naval personnel this represents.

Adam Ingram: The total number of Royal Navy personnel serving onboard ships at sea on 9 January 2007 was 3,486. This figure constitutes 9.9 per cent. of the full-time trained strength.

Thermal Imaging

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 5 January 2007,  Official Report, column 110W, on thermal imaging, what his timetable is for the delivery of additional sights to front line troops.

Adam Ingram: An order has been placed to deliver 100 light weight thermal imaging sights to the Army by the end of February and a further 300 sights by the end of March. The subsequent delivery of this equipment to operational theatres is a matter for military commanders.

Tour Intervals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour intervals were for each unit deployed in  (a) Kosovo and  (b) Bosnia.

Des Browne: One unit now deploys into the Bosnia and Kosovo theatre and is known as the Pan Balkans Infantry Battalion. Currently this role is filled by the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards who have an average tour interval of 18 months.

Weaponry

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1502W, on weaponry, which of the weapons listed are capable of being physically carried by personnel in theatre on foot.

Adam Ingram: The following can be carried by personnel in theatre on foot:
	General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). Calibre 7.62 mm
	81 mm Medium Mortar
	Javelin Anti Tank Guided Weapon
	Long Range Rifle. Calibre 8.6 mm

Blood Products Laboratory

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Blood Products Laboratory spent on the purchase of 24 plasma collection centres belonging to Life Resources Incorporated in the United States in the last five years; what revenue benefit to NHS Blood and Transplant these investments have produced; and what assessment she has made of the future of these facilities.

Caroline Flint: Bio Products Laboratory has not purchased 24 plasma collection centres belonging to Life Resources Incorporated.
	In December 2002, the Department purchased the United States (US) plasma collector Life Resources Incorporated. This acquisition included the purchase of 24 centres collecting blood plasma from donors across the US. A press release issued on 17 December 2002 provides details of the acquisition including cost and is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/PressReleases/PressReleasesNotices/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4026006&chk=oaRaxa
	A US holding company, DCI Biologicals Inc, was established to manage the business. DCI Biologicals reports to the United Kingdom parent company, Plasma Resources UK Limited, owned by the Secretary of State for Health.
	The Department is leading a review to identify and explore opportunities to improve Bio Products Laboratory business and this review includes DCI Biologicals Inc.

Cholesterol

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing  (a) total cholesterol and  (b) low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels among patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease in England; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the form requested. However, the new general medical services (GMS) contract specification encourages primary care practices to identify patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and diabetes and to control cholesterol in those patients. The following tables show the percentage of available points achieved against these indicators across England demonstrating that general practitioner practices are making good progress of improving control of cholesterol in patients with cardiovascular disease.
	The applicable quality and outcomes framework (QOF) indicators and the overall percentages are shown as follows:
	
		
			  CHD 8—the percentage of patients with (CHD) whose last measured total cholesterol (measured in the last 15 months) is 5mmol/l or less 
			  QOF year  Overall percentage CHD 8 for England 
			 2004-05 72 
			 2005-06 78 
		
	
	
		
			  Stroke 8—the percentage of patients with TIA or stroke whose last measured total cholesterol (measured in the last 15 months) is 5mmol/l or less 
			  QOF year  Overall percentage stroke 8 for England 
			 2004-05 63 
			 2005-06 72 
		
	
	
		
			  DM 17—the percentage of patients with diabetes whose last measured total cholesterol within previous 15 months is 5mmol/or less 
			  QOF year  Overall percentage DM 17 for England 
			 2004-05 72 
			 2005-06 79 
			  Note:  Some patients may be excluded from the indicator because of exceptions and exclusions. Only patients registered with a general practice participating in QOF will be included.

Cholesterol

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider adopting the recommendations of the Joint British Societies guidelines on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice in relation to  (a) total cholesterol levels and  (b) low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels for higher risk patients; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Department policy on cholesterol targets is set out in the national service framework for coronary heart disease (CHD), and reflected in key drivers of practice such as the quality and outcomes framework of the general medical services contract.
	The Joint British Societies guidelines are welcomed as a contribution to policy development but they do not update the Department's policy. The principal mechanism for this is the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE is currently working on guidance on lipid management, due out later this year. That guidance will set out any revisions to current policy on targets for controlling cholesterol.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from  (a) organisations and  (b) members of the public on the draft National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance for treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis; how many of these representations relate to the possible effect of such guidance on children and young people; and what plans she has to ask NICE to address concerns raised about the draft guidance.

Ivan Lewis: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its draft clinical guideline on chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis for consultation on 29 September 2006. Since that date the Department has received, as of 17 January, 12 written representations concerned with this guideline. Of these, 11 were from hon. Members and the remaining one from a member of the public.
	Information on whether these representations relate to the possible effect of such guidance on children and young people is not readily available.
	NICE's consultation on this guideline closed on24 November. Comments arising from consultation will be considered by the guideline developers and posted on the NICE website after the final guideline is published.

Departmental Staff

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the effective date is for annual pay awards to her Department's staff; and what the actual implementation date was in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The effective date is 1 August.
	The actual dates for payment of increased salaries are as follows:
	
		
			  Pay year  Month in which payment made 
			 2002 August 2002 
			 2003 January 2004 
			 2004 November 2004 
			 2005 November 2005 
			 2006 December 2006(1) 
			 (1) Two year deal.

Equality Act

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts on meeting the obligations of the Equality Act 2006 on gender equality duty;
	(2)  what support she has made available to primary care trusts to enable them to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2006 gender duties.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has undertaken a number of activities to promote equality issues in the national health service (NHS), including the forthcoming gender equality duty, and particularly to support the NHS meet its responsibilities under the gender duty. The Department's strategy for promoting gender equality in the NHS is to set action on gender issues within the overall framework for planning and delivering the Department's and NHS' priorities.
	The Department has worked closely with NHS organisations to prepare them for the gender duty when it comes into force in April this year. A detailed programme of work is in place to ensure the implementation of the gender duty across the whole health sector. These include:
	Developing and publishing a gender equality duty guide to assist NHS organisations meet the duties of the gender duty legislation. This will be available at the end of January.
	publishing "Promoting Equality and Human Rights in the NHS—a Guide for Board Members" aimed at helping non-executive board members take forward the issues of equality and human rights with regard to patients and the workforce. The guide outlines the legislative framework and the principles that underpin equality and human rights. It demonstrates the business case for promoting and delivering equality and human rights, and includes a set of prompts for boards to take stock of how fairly their organisations treat their patients and workforce. The guide incorporates current and imminent legislation and includes all board members. This guide is available on the Department's website.
	working with inspectorate bodies and the Equal Opportunities Commission to ensure that gender equality issues are integrated into inspection arrangements and sector specific guidance provided to help the health sector promote gender equality;
	organising a conference for the NHS in November 2006. This was aimed at creating and enhancing awareness of the meaning of gender and its relevance to health, increasing understanding of the general and specific duties of the gender duty, providing information and guidance on the implementation of the specific duties
	the Department's equality and human rights group is leading a project aimed at supporting the equalities agenda through the development of single equality schemes (SES) in the NHS. The project has been set up in anticipation of possible further duties in relation to age, religion and belief and sexual orientation and plans to encourage work to pull together the different equality strands without compromising any of the individual elements in a cross cutting and coherent fashion. Project leads provide support in terms of expertise in the field of equalities legislation, facilitating partnerships and joined up working, research, sharing of good practice and producing guidance. Project leads also provide specific guidance on the gender and disability duties. The organisations involved are committed to producing a single equality scheme and will collectively produce learning that identifies the different steps required to meet both current and likely duties which will be meaningful to the host of diverse organisations within the NHS. Development and outcomes from all the programmes outlined above will be shared and disseminated throughout the NHS.
	the pacesetters programme headed by the equality and human rights group is a programme that places equality including gender equality at the heart of NHS business, organisational objectives and core values, impacting upon future health planning, performance management and delivery. The Group is working with up to five strategic health authorities to deliver equality and diversity improvements and innovations resulting in:
	patient and user involvement in the design and delivery of services;
	reduced health inequalities for patients and service users; and
	working environments that are fair and free of discrimination.
	The participating SHAs launched their local involvement in the programme in November 2006.

Equality Act

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to primary care trusts on ensuring services provided for the NHS by independent contractors comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2006 gender duties.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's commercial directorate has negotiated with its contractors a requirement for all independent sector providers of services to operate in accordance with all applicable law including the Equality Act 2006.
	The Department is currently developing a gender equality duty guide to assist national health service organisations meet the duties of the gender duty legislation. This guide outlines partnership working between NHS organisations, its partners and contractors and the need to secure agreement from partners or contractors to give due regard to gender equality in relation to the work of the partnership to allow it to meet its statutory gender duty. This guide will be available at the end of January.

Equality Act

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has sent to providers of NHS mental health services about meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2006 gender duties.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) is currently seeking to rationalise its workstreams in order to focus its efforts more effectively. Work is currently in progress to bring together the existing programmes on public mental health (including mental health promotion and suicide prevention), social inclusion and anti-stigma and discrimination into a single wellbeing and inclusion workstream.
	The Department's guidance on 'Promoting Equality and Human Rights in the NHS—a Guide for Board Member' is aimed at helping non-executive board members take forward the issues of equality and human rights with regard to patients and the workforce. The guide outlines the legislative framework and the principles that underpin equality and human rights. It demonstrates the business case for promoting and delivering equality and human rights, and includes a set of prompts for boards to take stock of how fairly their organisations treat their patients and workforce. The guide incorporates current and imminent legislation and includes all board members. This guide is available on the Department's website.
	The Department is currently developing a gender equality duty guide to assist the national health service meet the duties of the gender duty legislation and it will be published at the end of January 2007. This guide will be available to all NHS organisations and will be accessible on the Department's website.

Expatriate Medical Care

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was transferred to other European Union governments to cover the cost of medical care for British expatriates in each year since 2001.

Rosie Winterton: The national health service is responsible for providing healthcare cover only for those British expatriates who are entitled to an exportable social security benefit under the terms of Regulations (EEC) 1408/71 and 574/72.
	The table shows, in resource terms, the estimated costs of healthcare cover provided to persons insured in the UK and residing in other EEA member states or Switzerland under the terms of Regulations (EEC) 1408/71 and 574/72. These are estimated claims in according with existing arrangements under the Regulation 574/72.
	
		
			   Lump sum claims (£000) 
			 2001 205,200 
			 2002 254,800 
			 2003 327,200 
			 2004 383,500 
			 2005 408,100 
			  Notes: 1. The information is compiled in line with the requirements of "Government Accounting 2000" and National Audit Office (NAO) and used for resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) purpose during 2005-06. 2. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Lump sums claims are mainly for the UK state pensioners residing in other member state

Human Papilloma Virus

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1031-2W, on the Human Papilloma Virus vaccination, what the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Subgroup on Human Papilloma Virus will discuss when it meets on28 February; and what further evidence the subgroup is awaiting.

Caroline Flint: The Joint Committee on Vaccination Immunisation subgroup will discuss, based on new information presented at the meeting, the most appropriate age for vaccination; whether there is an advantage in offering the vaccine to boys as well as girls; and the evidence on a vaccination catch-up programme.
	The subgroup is examining the health benefits and cost effectiveness of introducing Human Papilloma Virus vaccine, based on United Kingdom data. In particular, UK data is required on age specific HPV infection rates by HPV type and single years of life for females aged 11 to 29 years.

Interpreters

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent by the NHS on interpreters in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what recent estimate she has made of the amount of money spent by the NHS on providing information in foreign languages; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: National health service organisations are not required to report their planned or actual spending on interpretation and translation services to the Department. Therefore, it is not possible to provide an estimate of spending at this time.
	When planning interpretation and translation services, NHS organisations should take due account of their legal duties, the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.
	The Government have established the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion to look at Government policies and public services and to report in 2007. As part of its brief, the commission willlook at the provision of language services across Government. The Department will fully support the commission in its work.

LINks

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the establishment of LINks; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There were almost 500 responses to "A stronger local voice", concerning our plans for patient and public involvement including the establishment of local involvement networks (LINks). We had also received a great deal of feedback through our stakeholder engagement. This feedback has been taken on board wherever possible and has helped to shape our plans for how LINks will work. This is reflected in the Government response document to "A stronger local voice", copies of which are available in the Library.

NHS Dentistry

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on the promotion of improved dental/oral hygiene in 2005-06; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Oral health promotion can take the form of educational and awareness campaigns aimed at population groups, or personal information and advice given by dentists, hygienists or other members of primary and community dental teams in the course of examining or treating individual patients. Information on local oral health promotion campaigns is not collected centrally although, over the period 2003 to 2006 the Department contributed £1.1 million to pilot the "Brushing for Life" scheme intended to get families with young children into the habit of brushing their teeth regularly with fluoride toothpaste. Nor is it possible to quantify what proportion of the activity, supported by the £2.2 billion gross budget in 2005-06 for national health service primary dental care services, contributed to raising awareness of oral hygiene and the prevention of dental disease. One of the Government's objectives in introducing from April 2006 local commissioning arrangements for primary dental care services and changing the basis of remuneration for dental practices away from item of service fees was to give dentists more scope to focus on preventative care. Primary care trusts are also now required to provide oral health promotion programmes to the extent that they consider it necessary to meet all reasonable requirements within their areas. To assist them we published an oral health plan for England, "Choosing Better Oral Health" in November 2005.

Departmental Equipment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period.

Paul Goggins: The details of computers and laptops reported as stolen within the NIO are as follows:
	
		
			   Item  Value (£) 
			 2006-07 One laptop stolen from flight 1,500.00 
			 2005-06 — 0 
			 2004-05 — 0 
			 2003-04 One laptop stolen from hotel room 1,500.00 
			 2002-03 One hand held computer 350.00 
			 2001-02 One PC equipment stolen from civil representative's offices (1)— 
			  One laptop stolen from the Community Safety Centre 1,500.00 
			 2000-01 — 0 
			 1999-2000 One laptop stolen from offices 4,500.00 
			 1998-99 One laptop stolen from officer's home 3,000.00 
			 1997-98 No records available 0 
			 Total  10,850.00 
			 (1) Old equipment—value negligible

Ibsley Control Tower

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what reasons the listing application for Ibsley Control Tower has been referred to the Minister for Culture, the hon. Member for Tottenham, for decision; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: All listing recommendations are forwarded by English Heritage to the Department for a decision. While English Heritage receives applications, assesses buildings and makes recommendations, responsibility for decisions on whether or not to list a building remains, under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, with the Secretary of State.

Television Licensing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many letters Television Licensing has issued in each of the last five years threatening legal proceedings; in how many of these cases prosecutions have followed; and how many prosecutions were successful in  (a) Orkney and Shetland,  (b) the Highlands and Islands,  (c) Scotland and  (d) the UK.

Shaun Woodward: The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration under the contract to the Corporation. I have therefore asked the BBC's Head of Revenue Management to consider the question raised by my hon. Friend about the number of letters issued by TV licensing which threaten legal proceedings and to write to him direct. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	However, the free-standing figures for the number of people proceeded against and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to television licence evasion in the last five years are in the following tables.
	
		
			  Proceeded against 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Orkney and Shetland 4 0 0 2 4 
			 The Highlands and Islands 123 53 86 89 124 
			 Scotland 2,185 1,181 1,747 2,606 2,856 
			 England and Wales 96,470 110,158 93,896 115,623 139,194 
		
	
	
		
			  Found guilty 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Orkney and Shetland 4 0 0 2 4 
			 The Highlands and Islands 122 53 83 89 122 
			 Scotland 2,131 1,137 1,725 2,594 2,806 
			 England and Wales 83,738 96,587 79,855 97,752 119,341 
		
	
	The figures for Northern Ireland are not available.

Theatres

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the level of revenue funding for theatre has been in each financial year since 1996-97 in England.

David Lammy: Government funding for the arts is distributed, within broad guidelines, through Arts Council England. The following figures provide a breakdown of the information requested.
	
		
			  Arts Council England grant in aid funding, theatre 
			   £000 
			 1996-97 47,899 
			 2001-02 58,612 
			 2002-03 71,669 
			 2003-04 85,501 
			 2004-05 90,692 
			 2005-06 94,937 
		
	
	Prior to the merger of the Arts Council of England and the Regional Arts Boards, funding for theatre was distributed nationally by the Arts Council, and regionally by the Arts Boards. Overall expenditure by art form was not collated. However, Arts Council England has retrospectively collated this data for 1996-97, 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what documents her Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the costwas of producing such translations in each of thelast five years, broken down by language of translation.

David Lammy: Details and costs of documents published by DCMS in ethnic language versions since January 2002 are as follows. We do not have this information for DCMS's agencies and, in respect of those, the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	 November 2002
	Leaflet on the National Lottery
	Translated into Hindi and Punjabi
	3,000 copies of each printed.
	Total cost: £1,736
	Cost per language: £868
	 August 2005
	Leaflet on the Licensing Act 2003
	Translated into Turkish, Greek, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujerati, Urdu, Chinese, Arabic and
	Kurdish.
	Supplied as an electronic PDF to local authorities for customisation, printing and distribution to their local communities.
	Cost per language £85
	Total cost: £765

Women Entrepreneurs

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government have for encouraging women entrepreneurs.

Meg Munn: There are encouraging signs that more women are considering starting businesses and recent figures show that 34 per cent. of the newly self-employed are women compared to 27 per cent. of those currently self-employed. A Task Force on Women's Enterprise has been established to further accelerate the rates of women's business ownership in the UK. The Task Force is co-ordinating activity across Government and the Regional Development Agencies to ensure more women can set up in business.

Boardroom Appointments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will make an assessment of the progress of women in securing boardroom appointments in the last five years.

Meg Munn: According to the Female FTSE report 2006 there are now 117 (10.3 per cent.) female held directorships compared to 75 (6.4 per cent.) in 2001. 77 companies in the FTSE have women on their boards compared to 57 in 2001. Currently, 33 FTSE 100 chairs are taking an active role in the progression of women to board level. Schemes such as the "FTSE 100 Cross Company Programme", a business to business solution, provides mentoring and support to encourage women's progression.

Gypsy and Traveller Communities

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with the Home Office on policing Gypsy and Traveller communities.

Meg Munn: I have not had any recent discussions with the Home Office on policing Gypsy and Traveller communities. However, my officials participate in a Home Office working group to follow up the policing aspects of the "Common Ground" report published by the CRE in 2006, and a Home Office publication "Moving Forward: How the Gypsy and Traveller Communities can be more engaged to improve policing performance".

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what representations she has made to the Home Office on the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Trafficking in respect of women trafficked into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Meg Munn: I sit on the Home Office led Inter-Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking and fully support the multiple aims of the Convention. I have been active in discussions on this issue, in particular feeding in evidence from participating in European Union and Council of Europe discussions on this issue.

ASBOs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued to people  (a) aged under 19 and  (b) 19 years or over in each local authority in the eastern region in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, in the east region, by age group and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed, 2002 
			   2002  
			  Area  Age 10-18  Age 19+  Age not known  Total 
			 Bedfordshire 2 2 — 4 
			  of which: 
			 Bedford borough council 1 — — 1 
			 Luton borough council 1 — — 1 
			 Mid Bedfordshire district council — 2 — 2 
			  
			 Cambridgeshire 2 — — 2 
			  of which: 
			 Peterborough council 2 — — 2 
			  
			 Essex 
			  of which: 
			 Southend borough council 1 — — 1 
			 Thurrock council 1 — — 1 
			  
			 Hertfordshire 6 — — 6 
			  of which: 
			 Broxbourne borough council 1 — — 1 
			 St Albans district council 1 — — 1 
			 Three Rivers district council 2 — — 2 
			 Watford borough council 2 — — 2 
			  
			 Norfolk 5 3 1 9 
			  of which: 
			 Norwich city council 5 3 1 9 
			  
			 Suffolk 5 — — 5 
			  of which: 
			 Ipswich borough council 5 — — 5 
			 Total east region 22 5 1 28 
			  Note : Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, in the east region, by age group and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed, 2003 
			   2003  
			  Area  Age 10-18  Age 19+  Age not known  Total 
			 Bedfordshire 8 8 — 16 
			  of which: 
			 Bedford borough council — 5 — 5 
			 Luton borough council 7 2 — 9 
			 Mid Bedfordshire district council 1 — — 1 
			 South Bedfordshire district council — 1 — 1 
			  
			 Cambridgeshire 12 3 — 15 
			  of which: 
			 Cambridge city council 1 1 — 2 
			 Huntingdonshire district council 2 — — 2 
			 Peterborough council 9 2 — 11 
			  
			 Essex 9 7 — 16 
			  of which: 
			 Basildon district council 1 — — 1 
			 Castle Point borough council — 1 — 1 
			 Harlow district council 3 1 — 4 
			 Southend borough council 5 4 — 9 
			 Tendring district council — 1 — 1 
			  
			 Hertfordshire 13 4 — 17 
			  of which: 
			 Broxbourne borough council 3 1 — 4 
			 North Hertfordshire district council 4 2 — 6 
			 Three Rivers district council 1 — — 1 
			 Watford borough council 5 1 — 6 
			  
			 Norfolk 6 1 — 7 
			  of which: 
			 Great Yarmouth borough council 6 — — 6 
			 Norwich city council — 1 — 1 
			  
			 Suffolk 9 16 — 25 
			  of which: 
			 Babergh district council — 2 — 2 
			 Forest Heath district council 1 1 — 2 
			 Ipswich borough council 2 1 — 3 
			 St Edmundsbury borough council 1 1 — 2 
			 Suffolk coastal district council 1 3 — 4 
			 Waveney district council 4 8  12 
			  
			 Total east region 57 39 — 96 
			  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, in the east region, by age group and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed, 2004 
			   2004  
			  Area  Age 10-18  Age 19+  Age not known  Total 
			 Bedfordshire 5 10 — 15 
			  of which: 
			 Bedford borough council 1 1 — 2 
			 Luton borough council 1 5 — 6 
			 Mid Bedfordshire district council 1 — — 1 
			 North Bedfordshire district council 1 — — 1 
			 South Bedfordshire district council 1 4 — 5 
			  
			 Cambridgeshire 4 22  26 
			  of which: 
			 Cambridge city council 1 16 — 17 
			 Huntingdonshire district council 1 2 — 3 
			 Peterborough council 2 4 — 6 
			  
			 Essex 34 25 59  
			  of which: 
			 Basildon district council 6 1 — 7 
			 Brentwood borough council 1 — — 1 
			 Castle Point borough council 1 — — 1 
			 Chelmsford borough council 2 7 — 9 
			 Colchester borough council 6 7 — 13 
			 Epping Forest district council 4 2 — 6 
			 Harlow district council 3 1 — 4 
			 Maldon district council 3 — — 3 
			 Southend borough council 2 4 — 6 
			 Tendring district council 4 1 — 5 
			 Thurrock council 2 —  2 
			 Uttlesford district council — 2 — 2 
			  
			 Hertfordshire 22 21 1 44 
			  of which: 
			 Broxbourne borough council 1 3 1 5 
			 Dacorum borough council 4 1 — 5 
			 East Hertfordshire district council — 2 — 2 
			 Hertsmere borough council 1 — — 1 
			 North Hertfordshire district council 2 2 — 4 
			 St Albans district council 2 2 — 4 
			 Stevenage borough council 2 3 — 5 
			 Three Rivers district council 1 1 — 2 
			 Watford borough council 8 7 — 15 
			 Welwyn Hatfield district council 1 — — 1 
			  
			 Norfolk 16 27 1 44 
			  of which: 
			 Breckland district council 5 5 — 10 
			 Great Yarmouth borough council 9 3 — 12 
			 King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough council 2 8 — 10 
			 Norwich city council — 10 1 11 
			 South Norfolk district council — 1 — 1 
			  
			 Suffolk 32 45 — 77 
			  of which: 
			 Babergh district council 1 — — 1 
			 Forest Heath district council 2 1 — 3 
			 Ipswich borough council 13 15 — 28 
			 Mid Suffolk district council — 5 — 5 
			 St Edmundsbury borough council — 1 — 1 
			 Suffolk coastal district council 11 13 — 24 
			 Waveney district council 5 10 — 15 
			 Total east region 113 150 2 265 
			  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, in the east region, by age group and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed, 2005 
			   2005  
			  Area  Age 10-18  Age 19+  Age not known  Total 
			 Bedfordshire 10 22 — 32 
			  of which: 
			 Bedford borough council — 8 — 8 
			 Luton borough council 4 10 — 14 
			 Mid Bedfordshire district council 4 3 — 7 
			 South Bedfordshire district council 2 1 — 3 
			  
			 Cambridgeshire 22 26 2 50 
			  of which: 
			 Cambridge city council 6 5 2 13 
			 East Cambridgeshire district council 5 1 — 6 
			 Fenland district council 2 3 — 5 
			 Huntingdonshire district council 3 9 — 12 
			 Peterborough council 1 6 — 7 
			 South Cambridgeshire district council 5 2 — 7 
			  
			 Essex 35 34 69  
			  of which: 
			 Basildon district council 5 — — 5 
			 Braintree district council 2 3 — 5 
			 Brentwood borough council — 2 — 2 
			 Castle Point borough council 2 1 — 3 
			 Chelmsford borough council 2 5 — 7 
			 Colchester borough council 10 6 — 16 
			 Epping Forest district council — 2 — 2 
			 Harlow district council 1 — — 1 
			 Maldon district council 1 — — 1 
			 Rochford district council 2 1 — 3 
			 Southend borough council 5 6 — 11 
			 Tendring district council 2 5 — 7 
			 Thurrock council 3 3 — 6 
			  
			 Hertfordshire 30 44 6 80 
			  of which: 
			 Broxbourne borough council 3 7 1 11 
			 Dacorum borough council 3 4 — 7 
			 East Hertfordshire district council 6 8 — 14 
			 Hertsmere borough council 1 4 — 5 
			 North Hertfordshire district council 4 7 — 11 
			 St Albans district council 1 — — 1 
			 Stevenage borough council 8 6 — 14 
			 Watford borough council 2 6 3 11 
			 Welwyn Hatfield district council 2 2 2 6 
			  
			 Norfolk 14 32 — 46 
			  of which: 
			 Breckland district council — 9 — 9 
			 Great Yarmouth borough council 6 3 — 9 
			 King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough council 6 7 — 13 
			 North Norfolk district council — 3 — 3 
			 Norwich city council 2 10 — 12 
			  
			 Suffolk 22 30 — 52 
			  of which: 
			 Babergh district council — 1 — 1 
			 Forest Heath district council — 1 — 1 
			 Ipswich borough council 6 11 — 17 
			 Mid Suffolk district council 1 — — 1 
			 St Edmundsbury borough council 2 4 — 6 
			 Suffolk coastal district council 6 8 — 14 
			 Waveney district council 7 5 — 12 
			  
			 Total east region 133 188 8 329 
			  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Banks: Security

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to make banks responsible for fraudulent transactions online.

Vernon Coaker: Rules which cover responsibility for meeting the cost of fraudulent online transactions are made by the card schemes and are matters for individual merchants and their banks. This is not something in which the Government would intervene.
	The Government take the problem of card fraud very seriously and work closely with the finance and retail sectors and the police. The Home Office is represented on an industry-led Steering Group which aims to tackle 'Card Not Present' (CNP) fraud (which includes online fraud). We support practical measures being introduced by the industry to increase levels of security for internet transactions. These include Address Verification Services (AVS) and Card Security Code (CSC), along with Mastercard Secure Code and Verified by Visa which require password verification for internet transactions.

Brothels

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of introducing licensed and regulated brothels in certain areas.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of our wide-ranging public consultation on prostitution ('Paying the Price' published in July 2004) we considered the option of introducing a scheme to license or regulate brothels. We assessed the impact of such schemes introduced in other jurisdictions and invited comments from those responding to the consultation.
	We received 861 responses to the consultation. Following analysis of the available evidence and the responses to the consultation we are unconvinced that such a scheme would bring about real improvements in terms of the safety of those involved, and of the wider community. Our assessment is set out in full in the 'Coordinated Prostitution Strategy and a summary of responses to Paying the Price' published in January 2006.
	However, significant concerns emerged about the particular vulnerability of those who work alone. The coordinated strategy on prostitution published in January 2006, included a proposal to amend the definition of a brothel to allow women to work in pairs, or with a maid. We intend to consult further on this proposal and an announcement will be made in due course.
	The strategy recognises that there are different models of prostitution and aims to challenge the existence of street-based sex markets, as well as all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. It includes specific measures aimed at reducing the numbers of people, particularly young people, drawn into prostitution, as well as improving the support available for those already involved to find routes out.

Dangerous Dogs Act

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in London were prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each year from 1992 to 2006.

Tony McNulty: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of people prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in the Metropolitan and City of London Police Force Area, from 1992 to 2005, is shown in the following tables.
	Figures for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates court for offences relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, in the Metropolitan and City of London police force area, 1992-2005( 1, 2) 
			  Statute  Offence description  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998 
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place injuring any person. 65 94 68 53 29 35 46 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1091 Sec 3(3) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non-public place and injure any person. 9 4 5 4 4 5 5 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1989. Dogs Act 1871 Sec 2 Failure to comply with an order to keep a dog under proper control etc. Dangerous dog not kept under proper control. 65 36 18 23 24 24 17 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(a) Breeding or breeding from a fighting dog. 9 2 — 1 2 1 — 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(d) Allowing a fighting dog to be in a public place without a muzzle or a lead. 103 39 15 11 6 5 4 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(e) Abandoning, or allowing to stray, a fighting dog. 9 7 8 2 2 1 — 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(3) Possession, without exemption, of a Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa or other designated fighting dog. 100 93 31 20 10 9 13 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place, no injury being caused. 70 67 50 31 21 24 15 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non- public place causing reasonable apprehension of injury to a person. 7 10 — 3 1 — — 
			 Total  437 352 195 148 99 104 100 
		
	
	
		
			  Statute  Offence description  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place injuring any person. 45 53 58 59 63 64 58 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1091 Sec 3(3) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non-public place and injure any person. 1 3 2 2 4 2 1 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1989. Dogs Act 1871 Sec 2 Failure to comply with an order to keep a dog under proper control etc. Dangerous dog not kept under proper control. 12 11 14 14 4 8 4 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(a) Breeding or breeding from a fighting dog. — 1 1 6 — 1 — 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(d) Allowing a fighting dog to be in a public place without a muzzle or a lead. 1 2 4 2 1 1 — 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(2)(e) Abandoning, or allowing to stray, a fighting dog. 2 — — — — — — 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 1(3) Possession, without exemption, of a. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa or other designated fighting dog. 9 3 2 1 1 1 1 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place, no injury being caused. 19 28 29 16 19 13 19 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3) Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non- public place causing reasonable apprehension of injury to a person. 2 2 1 — 3 — 1 
			 Total  91 103 111 100 95 90 84

Departmental Common Policy Programme

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether officials in his Department and Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff at posts abroad work to a common policy programme.

Joan Ryan: The FCO has nine strategic priorities, three of which are directly concerned with Home Office business: making the world safer from global terrorism; reducing the harm to the UK from international crime, including drug trafficking, people smuggling and money laundering; and managing migration and combating illegal immigration. In those countries of priority concern to the UK, officials from both Departments also work very closely in delivering UK justice and home affairs objectives. There are Home Office secondees in the British embassies in Washington DC and Madrid and a joint unit working on Afghan counter narcotics. The Home Office has both intensive and extensive contact with the FCO on EU business and works closely on justice and home affairs issues within the G8 Lyon-Roma group.

Leave to Remain

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State forthe Home Department pursuant to the answer of9 January 2007,  Official Report, column 538W, on leave to remain, what the other countries are from which nationals have been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the ILR exercise of 30 September 2006.

Liam Byrne: The following table based on management information shows the number of persons granted indefinite leave to remain under the terms of the family indefinite leave to remain exercise, by nationality where five or more, as at 30 September 2006, the latest data for which information has been published.
	Further information on the Family ILR exercise is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Grants of ILR issued under the IND Family ILR exercise as at 30 September 2006( 1,2) , by nationality 
			  Nationality  Total 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5.(2 )Main asylum applicant only. 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 3,905 
			 Sri Lanka 1,945 
			 Turkey 1,735 
			 Pakistan 1,220 
			 Nigeria 1,125 
			 Democratic Republic of Congo 935 
			 Colombia 715 
			 Afghanistan 700 
			 Kenya 685 
			 Ecuador 665 
			 Ghana 595 
			 Somalia 590 
			 Poland 580 
			 China 545 
			 Iran 465 
			 Sierra Leone 405 
			 India 380 
			 Lithuania 380 
			 Uganda 365 
			 Croatia 350 
			 Albania 345 
			 Angola 340 
			 Iraq 290 
			 Algeria 265 
			 Czech Republic 255 
			 Ukraine 245 
			 Bangladesh 230 
			 Rwanda 225 
			 Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire) 210 
			 Tanzania 205 
			 Romania 186 
			 Congo 170 
			 Eritrea 166 
			 Burundi 160 
			 Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus (TRNC) 155 
			 Zimbabwe 155 
			 Palestine 155 
			 Russia 145 
			 Cameroon 135 
			 Jamaica 135 
			 Ethiopia 125 
			 Latvia 110 
			 Gambia 105 
			 Lebanon 100 
			 Sudan 100 
			 Estonia 95 
			 Slovakia 85 
			 .Iberia 70 
			 Yemen 65 
			 Bulgaria 65 
			 Nepal 45 
			 Vietnam 45 
			 Armenia 45 
			 Libya (Arab Republic) 40 
			 Israel 40 
			 South Africa 40 
			 Togo 40 
			 Cyprus (excluding Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus) 40 
			 Georgia 40 
			 Syria 35 
			 Bosnia-Herzegovina 35 
			 Azerbaijan 30 
			 Belarus 30 
			 Moldova 30 
			 Mongolia 30 
			 Bolivia 25 
			 Brazil 25 
			 Egypt 20 
			 Zambia 20 
			 Peru 20 
			 Mauritius 15 
			 Philippines 15 
			 Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of) 15 
			 Morocco 15 
			 Guinea 10 
			 Guinea-Bissau 10 
			 Tunisia 10 
			 Venezuela 10 
			 Jordan 10 
			 Kuwait 10 
			 Malawi 10 
			 Kazakhstan 10 
			 Chad 10 
			 Chile 10 
			 Guyana 10 
			 Indonesia 10 
			 Myanmar (Burma) 10 
			 Seychelles 10 
			 Niger 5 
			 Burkina Faso 5 
			 Kyrgyzstan 5 
			 Malaysia 5 
			 Trinidad And Tobago 5 
			 Uzbekistan 5 
			 Cuba 5 
			 Mall 5 
			 Saudi Arabia 5 
			 Benin 5 
			 Gabon 5 
			 Korea (South) 5 
			 St. Lucia 5 
			 Thailand 5 
			 Other Nationalities 20 
			 Total 24,340

Local Government

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets his Department sets for local authorities.

Tony McNulty: The only target the Home Office sets directly for local authorities is an efficiency target which it sets for the police service. The main way in which the Home Office delivers national public service agreements is through setting targets for local partnerships such as crime and drugs partnerships and youth offending teams.
	Targets which local authorities are expected to deliver on are contained in local area agreements (LAAs). The following Home Office mandatory outcomes are included in all LAAs: reduce crime; reassure the public, reducing the fear of crime; reduce the harm caused by illegal drugs; and build respect in communities and reduce antisocial behaviour. There is also a sub set of best value performance indicators relating to community safety. Four of these are directly related to crime levels which local authorities report on, in consultation with the police.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written statement of 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 82WS, on local policing, what representations were made by  (a) individual chief police officers,  (b) the Association of Chief Police Officers,  (c) individual police authorities and  (d) the Association of Police Authorities on the number of police community support officers needed for the neighbourhood policing project; and if he will place such representations in the Library.

Tony McNulty: PCSOs and the appropriate level of resourcing to deliver and sustain neighbourhood policing in 2007-08 and beyond have been discussed generally in almost all official and ministerial meetings and discussions on policing (both informal and formal) in recent months and leading up to my written statement of 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 82-86WS. The Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Authorities have represented the police service as a whole in these discussions, although individual chiefs and chairs have also raised these issues.

Police

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1324W, on the police, which police forces in England and Wales have collected the data referred to, other than the Metropolitan Police Service; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 8 January 2007
	All police forces, other than the Cambridgeshire constabulary, provided activity-based costing data to the Home Office covering the 2004-05 financial year. This data was reported under a number of headings including robberies, violence against the person and burglary in a dwelling. Non-incident linked paperwork and checking paperwork (supervisory) are not costed specifically within the activity-based costing returns submitted to the Home Office.

Police

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police officers there are in  (a) England,  (b) Staffordshire,  (c) Stoke on Trent and  (d) Trent Valley division;
	(2)  how many police officers there are in  (a) England,  (b) Staffordshire,  (c) Stoke on Trent,  (d) Trent Valley and  (e) Tamworth per 100,000 head of population.

Tony McNulty: Police officer strength and the number of police officers per 100,000 head of population, by police force area, are given in Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Police Service Strength England and Wales31 March 2006, available for download from:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306.pdf
	Police officer strength and the number of police officers per 100,000 head of population, by basic command unit, are given in the additional tables of the abovementioned publication, available for download from:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306add_tab.xls
	Police strength data for the town of Tamworth are not available. The available local data for Staffordshire Basic Command Units are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength (FTE)( 1)  and officers per 100,000 population by country, force and BCU as at 31 March 2006 
			  Police force  Basic command unit  Police officers  Police officers per 100,000 population 
			 All England forces  133,925 269 
			 
			 Staffordshire  2,302 219 
			  Chase 420 131 
			  North Staffordshire 298 137 
			  Stoke on Trent 578 243 
			  Trent Valley 412 150 
			  Central Services 594 (2)n/a 
			 (1 )Full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, due to rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of constituent items. Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2 )Central Services are an administrative boundary, not a geographic one, and therefore do not have a resident population.

Police

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in Essex in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the table.
	Police strength data are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Police Service Strength, England and Wales". The latest publication (data as at 31 March 2006) can be downloaded from:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306.pdf
	
		
			  Police officer strength (FTE)( 1)  in Essex as at 31 March 1996 to 31 March 2006( 2) 
			 1996 2,884 
			 1997 2,961 
			 1998 2,928 
			 1999 2,891 
			 2000 2,806 
			 2001 2,897 
			 2002 2,946 
			 2003 2,989 
			 2004 3,098 
			 2005 3,190 
			 2006 3,279 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent. All officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures). (2) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of founding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Police

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales have changed police injury pension payments so that payments are linked to national average earnings rather than police wages once injured officers reach compulsory retirement age  (a) to all officers including those already receiving injury pensions who have reached compulsory retirement age,  (b) to those receiving an injury pension but are yet to reach compulsory retirement age and  (c) only to those who were injured after the changes came into effect.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not held centrally. The decision whether to review a police injury pension is for the police authority paying it. The size of an injury award is determined in the first instance by reference to the recipient's final pensionable salary and length of service as a police officer and his or her loss of earning capacity as a result of the injury. Where a police authority is reviewing the size of an injury pension the key question is whether the former officer's loss of earning capacity as a result of the injury has altered. When a former officer reaches what wouldhave been his or her compulsory retirement age in the police service Home Office guidance advises police authorities, in the absence of any cogent evidence to the contrary in a particular case, to assess the loss earning capacity by reference not to police pay but to national average earnings.

Police

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many black and minority ethnic Metropolitan Police officers applied for positions with the rank of Commander in the last two years; how many have been appointed to those positions; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 16 January 2007
	Statistics regarding applications for promotion are for the force concerned and is therefore a matter for the Metropolitan Police Service in this case.

Proscribed Terrorist Organisations

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the UK-based organisations which are listed as proscribed terrorist organisations under international agreements to which the UK is a party.

Tony McNulty: Both the EU and the UN maintain lists of terrorist organisations. Member states are obliged to apply financial sanctions (such as asset freezes) on the organisations on these lists.
	The EU list can be accessed at the following website:
	http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/cfsp/sanctions/list/consol-list.htm
	The New Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities Belonging to or Associated with the Taliban and AI-Quaida Organisation, as established and maintained by the United Nations 1267 committee, can be accessed at the following website:
	http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/1267ListEng.htm

Repeat Bail Offenders

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people arrested over 2005-06 were on repeat bail.

Tony McNulty: Information on arrests held centrally covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity and main offence group within the 43 police force areas in England and Wales. Information is therefore not available centrally to the detail required. This information is held locally however and is one of the factors that can be considered by the courts when deciding whether or not to grant bail in a particular case. Other factors include the nature and seriousness of the alleged offence, the defendant's character, associations and community ties.

Road Safety

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cause is of the delay in publishing the report into the road death pilot projects which ended in March 2005; and when he expects it to be published.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 16 January 2007
	A Research Findings on the evaluation of support services for road traffic victims is due to be published in spring 2007. The report will be based on an examination of three Home Office funded pilot schemes—Bedfordshire, Bradford and Calderdale and Merseyside.
	The publication date reflects the work that has been involved in finalising the research report from the evaluation, and in quality assuring its contents.

Speeding

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of speeding offences in  (a) England,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the Ribble Valley in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Available information on the number of convictions for offences of speeding taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, from 2000 to 2004 (latest available) is in the table.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	Data are not available at either local authority or constituency level.
	
		
			  Total findings of guilt at all courts: England and within Lancashire police force area for speeding offences( 1) , 2000 to 2004 
			   Number of offences 
			   England  Lancashire police force area 
			 2000 130,876 5,268 
			 2001 127,647 4,468 
			 2002 115,875 3,895 
			 2003 128,517 6,862 
			 2004 130,803 5,078 
			 (1 )Offence under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 7 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926—byelaws made thereunder.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated.  2: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Woodhill Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving custodial sentences of longer than six months at HMP Woodhill were included in the population numbers supplied to the Department of Health for the calculation of NHS funding to the Milton Keynes primary care trust for 2006-07 and 2007-08; and what the equivalent number was in April 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health Services (Ms Winterton), on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 921W.

Written Questions

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he will reply to question 114383, on the adequacy of written parliamentary answers, tabled by the hon. Members for Mid Worcestershire on 8 January 2007 for answer on 11 January 2007; and what the reason was for the time taken to provide an answer;
	(2)  when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire of 6 September and 19 October 2006, on the subject of inadequate responses by his Department to written parliamentary questions.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 January 2007
	I wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 17 January.

Apprenticeships: Waterways

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether apprenticeships are available in  (a) canal boat building and  (b) canal and inland waterways maintenance.

Phil Hope: Lantra is the sector skills council which leads on environmental conservation skills, including inland waterways maintenance. Boat building skills issues are addressed by the Science and Engineering Sector Skills Council (SEMTA). SEMTA works closely with the British Marine Federation (BMP) which designs apprenticeships in the marine industry covering boat building, maintenance and repair. The BMP is working with employers in the sector, for example through the Midlands Marine Alliance, to establish a specific canal boat building apprenticeship route. This is expected to become available during 2007.

Children in Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were registered under local authority care in England at the end of each  (a) November and  (b) January since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the number of all looked after children who were looked after at the31 January, at the 1 November and 31 March since 1997, is shown in table l.
	
		
			  Table 1: Children who were looked after at 31 January, 30 November and at 31 March( 1) 
			  England 
			  All children( 1)  1997( 3)  1998( 2)  1999( 2)  2000( 2)  2001( 2)  2002( 2)  2003( 2)  2004( 3)  2005( 3)  2006( 3) 
			 Children who were looked after at 31 March 51,400 53,300 55,400 58,100 58,900 59,600 60,800 61,200 60,900 60,300 
			 Children who were looked after at 31 January 51,500 52,700 55,000 57,500 58,200 59,700 60,200 61,100 61,200 60,700 
			 Children who were looked after at 30 November(4) 52,400 54,500 57,700 58,200 59,600 59,800 60,400 61,200 61,300 — 
			 (1) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements (2) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 system from 1996/97 and between 2003/04 and 2005/06 collected information on all looked after children. (3) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 system which between 1997/98 and 2002/03 collected information from a one third sample survey of all looked after children and aggregate to the total of the CLA 100 as at 31 March (4) Figures for November 2006 will not be available until October/November 2007

Education: North-east England

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people from  (a) Jarrow constituency and  (b) south Tyneside have attended university in each year since 1997; and which English parliamentary constituency has had the highest (i) number and (ii) proportion of people attending university in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Undergraduate Entrants to all UK higher education institutions from Jarrow parliamentary constituency and South Tyneside local authority 
			   Undergraduate entrants from: 
			  Academic year  Jarrow constituency  South Tyneside local authority 
			 1997-98 555 980 
			 1998-99 605 1,065 
			 1999-2000 580 1,010 
			 2000-01 570 985 
			 2001-02 605 1,050 
			 2002-03 725 1,270 
			 2003-04 715 1,235 
			 2004-05 740 1,375 
			 2005-06 775 1,375 
			  Notes: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five and are on a DfES snapshot basis as at 1 December.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	In each of these years the English parliamentary constituency which had the highest number of undergraduate entrants to higher education institutions was Bristol West.
	The latest available figures on participation in higher education by constituency were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in January 2005 in "Young Participation in England", which is available from their website at:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/
	This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by constituency, for the years 1997-98 to 2000/01. HEFCE have not produced participation rates beyond 2000-01.
	The English parliamentary constituency which had the highest proportion of young people entering higher education in each of the years 1997-98 to 2000-01 was Kensington and Chelsea. For example in 2000-01 the participation rate for Kensington and Chelsea was79 per cent. compared to 30 per cent. for England as a whole.
	The Department uses the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18 to 30 in higher education towards 50 percent: the latest provisional figure for 2004-05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at parliamentary constituency level.

Managing Information Across Partners Programme

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made on the procurement exercise conducted by the Learning and Skills Council for the Managing Information Across Partners programme.

Bill Rammell: A preferred bidder has been selected to design, build and operate a Learner Registration Service, Learner Data Sharing Interface and Register of Learning Providers. This has followed a formal Government procurement process, initiated by a European Journal Notice issued in May 2006, and conducted under the competitive dialogue route. Three organisations were taken through to the bid stage. We are currently in the final stages of fine tuning and we expect to award the contract formally on Friday19 January 2007 to LogicaCMG.

Special Needs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special needs schools have been  (a) opened and  (b) closed in London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by borough; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: There has been one school that caters for special needs opened in 1998 in Waltham Forrest with no other openings or closures, for schools with this provision, in London in the last 10 years. However, the numbers of Special schools opened and closed in London, by borough over the last 10 years are given as follows:
	
		
			  Special schools opened in the last 10 years in London 
			   Open date  
			  Local authority  1997  1998  1999  2001  2002  2003  Grand total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Barnet — — — — — — 0 
			 Bexley 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Bromley — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Camden — — — — — — 0 
			 Ealing — — — — — — 0 
			 Greenwich — — — 3 — — 3 
			 Hackney — — — — — — 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham — — — — — — 0 
			 Haringey — — — — — — 0 
			 Harrow — — — 2 — — 2 
			 Islington — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Lambeth — — — 2 — — 2 
			 Lewisham — — — — — — 0 
			 Merton — — — — — — 0 
			 Newham — — — — — — 0 
			 Redbridge — — — — — 1 1 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — — — — — 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — — — 0 
			 Wandsworth — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Grand total 3 1 1 7 1 1 14 
		
	
	
		
			  Special schools closed in the last 10 years in London 
			   Close date  
			  Local authority  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Grand total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 3 — — — — — — — — — 3 
			 Barnet — — — 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Bexley — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Bromley — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Camden — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Ealing — — — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Greenwich — — — — 5 1 — — — 1 7 
			 Hackney 1 — — — — — — — — 1 2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham — — — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Haringey — — — — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Harrow — 1 — — 1 — — — — — 2 
			 Islington — 1 — — — 2 — — — — 3 
			 Lambeth 1 — — — 5 1 — — 1 — 8 
			 Lewisham — — — — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Merton — 1 — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Newham — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Redbridge — — — — — — — — 2 — 2 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Tower Hamlets 1 — 1 — — 1 — — — — 3 
			 Waltham Forest — 1 — — 1 — — — — 1 3 
			 Wandsworth — 1 1 — — — — — — — 2 
			 Grand total 6 5 2 1 14 8 1 1 3 3 44 
			  Note: The figures include schools that closed as a result of the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools and schools that have closed in local authorities that have moved from a three-tier to a two-tier system.  Source: EduBase

Student Finance: HE Sector

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects of the new funding arrangements for higher education, with particular reference to students' personal finances.

Bill Rammell: The Department is commissioning a new Student Income and Expenditure Survey which will take place during the 2007/08 academic year. The study will provide an authoritative and objective report on the finances of HE students in England and Wales—their income, expenditure, levels of debt and experience of financial hardship. The last survey was carried out in 2004/05 and was designed to set a baseline against which changes following the 2004 Higher Education Act could be monitored.
	On 8 January 2004, the Secretary of State announced that the Department would establish an independent review, working with the Office for Fair Access, which would report to the House of Commons on all aspects of the new student support arrangements based on the first three years of operation of the policy. The Department has worked with HEFCE, OFFA and other outside bodies to develop a programme of work that will generate the evidence needed to meet the draft remit of the review.
	Existing sources of data, information and analysis have been identified for each area, and work has begun to commission new studies where existing sources are felt to be insufficient.
	In terms of student numbers, although in 2006 there was a small decrease (4.5 per cent.) in university entrants accepted through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Scheme (UCAS), this came on the back of a larger than usual increase (8.9 per cent.) in those entering in 2005. Compared to 2004, numbers for 2006 entry were up by 12,000 or 4.3 per cent. It's as we expected, and is what happened when tuition fees were first introduced in 1998. Then, there was a small reduction, after which applications continued upwards. The underlying trend is still up and the proportion of applicants from lower socio-economic groups has not fallen.

Teenage Pregnancy Unit

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  who is responsible for maintaining the Teenage Pregnancy Unit website; and how often it is updated;
	(2)  what research projects are being undertaken by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit;
	(3)  what the terms of reference are for the Teenage Pregnancy Unit;
	(4)  whose responsibility commissioning research from the Teenage Pregnancy Unit is;
	(5)  how many civil servants work at the Teenage Pregnancy Unit; and how many worked at the unit in each year since its establishment.

Beverley Hughes: The Teenage Pregnancy Unit (TPU) is currently staffed by six civil servants. Shortly after that launch of the strategy in 2000, when TPU employed 16 civil servants. TPU does not have published terms of reference, but its role is to oversee implementation of the strategy and to develop it in the light of evidence of what is working to reduce conception rates.
	The TPU website is managed internally, with one member of staff taking lead responsibility for its maintenance. It is updated on an ongoing basis. However, during 2007, the information on the website will be migrated onto the Department's "Every Child Matters" website as part of a wider exercise to rationalise the number of websites that the Department is responsible for maintaining and to make it easier for stakeholders to access information from a single source.
	TPU does not carry out research itself. But it did commission a national evaluation of the first four years of the strategy and a number of individual research projects (through a competitive tender exercise), to fill gaps in the existing evidence base. There were a total of nine research projects commissioned—the findings of which have all been published on the TPU website—brigaded under the following five themes.
	The impact of growing up in rural and seaside resorts on the sexual behaviour and life-chances of young people.
	Long term consequences of teenage births for mothers, fathers and their children.
	Attitudes and behaviour of black and minority ethnic young people relating to sexual activity, contraceptive use and teenage pregnancy.
	Black and minority ethnic young people's experience of teenage parenthood.
	Educational experiences of pregnant young women and young mothers' of school age.

University Fees

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many, and what percentage, of students have their university fees paid in  (a) full and  (b) part by their local education authority, broken down by London borough; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The available data are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and percentage of students who had their tuition fees paid in full or in part—London borough local authority areas 
			  Academic year 2005/06 
			  London borough local authority  Number of students in receipt of full fee support( 1)  Percentage of students in receipt of full fee support( 2)  Number of students in receipt of partial fee support( 1)  Percentage of students in receipt of partial fee support( 2) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,210 64 260 14 
			 Barnet 3,000 42 700 10 
			 Bexley 1,170 39 410 14 
			 Brent 3,270 54 780 13 
			 Bromley 1,610 31 520 10 
			 Camden 2,010 62 280 9 
			 Croydon 2,650 43 730 12 
			 Ealing 3,200 51 750 12 
			 Enfield 2,500 46 660 12 
			 Greenwich 1,900 57 370 11 
			 Hackney 2,860 77 290 8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,400 62 170 8 
			 Haringey 2,670 60 430 10 
			 Harrow 2,250 38 770 13 
			 Havering 1,030 36 390 14 
			 Hillingdon 1,600 41 450 11 
			 Hounslow 1,660 44 410 11 
			 Islington 1,980 64 300 10 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,050 57 120 7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,000 34 330 11 
			 Lambeth 2,940 65 500 11 
			 Lewisham 2,550 61 520 12 
			 Merton 1,320 43 350 11 
			 Newham 4,220 76 520 9 
			 Redbridge 2,460 45 660 12 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,070 31 300 9 
			 Southwark 3,260 72 370 8 
			 Sutton 920 32 350 12 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,930 83 200 6 
			 Waltham Forest 2,600 63 500 12 
			 Wandsworth 2,060 53 430 11 
			 Westminster 1,390 62 200 9 
			 Total London(3) 67,710 52 13,990 11 
			 England(4) 321,540 43 98,930 13 
			 (1) Figures are for students domiciled in local authorities in the London boroughs, rounded to the nearest 10 students. (2) The percentage is the number of students in receipt of fee support expressed as a percentage of the total number of students who applied to the Student Loans Company for any student support and is rounded to the nearest whole number. (3) Totals do not add due to rounding. (4) A figure for all English local authorities has been included in the table for comparison purposes.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	In 2005/06, students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families were expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition based on household income. Students from lower income backgrounds were wholly or partially exempt from paying tuition fees.
	In 2006/07, no student needs to find money up front to meet tuition fees as they are eligible for a tuition fee loan of up to £3,000.

Employers' Liability

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that the Association of British Insurers maintain records of all companies liable for employers' liability.

Anne McGuire: Since 1 November 1999, the Association of British Insurers and the Lloyd's Market Association have been operating a code of practice for tracing Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) policies that currently exist.
	The 2006 pre-Budget report set out a simplification plan outlining the steps that DWP is taking to achieve our target of reducing administrative burdens we place on business. This will result in an ELCI consultation exercise later this year and the maintenance of ELCI records will form part of this.

Pensions Ombudsman

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time taken by the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman to carry out an investigation from receipt of the request to conclusion was in the last period for which figures are available; and what steps are being taken to reduce this period.

James Purnell: The information is not available in the form requested. At 31 December 2006 the age distribution of cases on hand was as follows:
	
		
			  Age distribution of Pensions Ombudsman cases on hand at 31 December 2006 
			  Age  Number of cases  Percentage of total 
			 Less than 1-year-old 476 38 
			 Between 1 and 2 years old 298 24 
			 Between 2 and 3 years old 143 12 
			 Between 3 and 4 years old 48 4 
			 Between 4 and 5 years old 252 20 
			 Over 5 years old 28 2 
			 Total 1,245 100 
		
	
	A number of measures have been taken to reduce the time taken to close cases. These include the recruitment of a Deputy Pensions Ombudsman, a fundamental revision of business processes, modernisation of the office's accommodation and IT infrastructure, and recruitment of additional investigative staff.
	These measures will assist the Pensions Ombudsman in achieving his target of reducing the proportion of cases on hand more than 12 months old to no more than 5 per cent. by 31 March 2008.

Deputy Prime Minister's Office

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether a capability review will be produced for the Department of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.

Hilary Armstrong: We have no plans to conduct a Capability Review of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.

V

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much from public funds has been allocated to the v charity, broken down by  (a) management and administration costs,  (b) funding for volunteering grants and  (c) other costs.

Edward Miliband: The Government announced in Budget 2005 that up to £100 million of public funds would be available for funding the Russell Commission framework over the period of 2006 to 2009. The Cabinet Office has budgeted £50 million to implement the 16 Russell Commission recommendations; the majority of which of which will go to v. A small amount is being retained by the Cabinet Office to support the implementation of recommendations which the Government are responsible for. The Treasury will match fund money v raises from the private sector on a pound for pound basis up to a maximum of £50 million.
	v has received the following grants up to 5 January 2006:
	 (a) a strategic grant of £1.4 million for management and admin costs;
	 (b) a volunteering grant of £5.2 million, which make up part of the volunteering opportunities grant; and
	 (c) a project grant of £2.8 million for 'other' (sector infrastructure and awareness) to promote volunteering opportunities.

Public Sector Information

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she plans to take to ensure that the aims of the Public Sector Information Regulations relating to maximising the reuse of public sector information and stimulation of the economy are achieved.

Harriet Harman: In recent years the Government, through the Office of Public Sector Information, has introduced a number of initiatives to encourage the re-use of public sector information. This includes the development of the on-line PSI Click-Use Licence. Currently, there are over 11,000 Click-Use licence holders worldwide using a range of government and other public sector information. The plan is to extend the scope of Click-Use licensing to a wider range of public sector information.
	The Office of Public Sector Information also introduced the Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS). This is a process that monitors standards of information re-use and trading. IFTS was originally developed to monitor the activities of government trading funds but IFTS has now been extended to other public sector bodies. This includes an on-line self assessment version of IFTS. This will help improve standards across the public sector in the field of re-use.
	In addition, OPSI will continue to spread best practice and increase awareness through seminars, visits and guidance.

Public Sector Information

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what action is taken against public sector information holders who breach the Information Fair Trader scheme guidelines.

Harriet Harman: If a public sector information holder (PSIH) that is accredited under the Information Fair Trader scheme (IFTS) does not comply with IFTS guidelines, the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) will notify the public sector information holder and identify those areas which need to be remedied. In doing so, OPSI will provide support and guidance to assist the PSIH to comply. This would involve regular meetings and reviews. A key aspect of the process is the development of an action plan which sets out the areas of non-compliance and target dates for meetingthe necessary standards. If the PSIH does not resolve the problem, OPSI may consider the withdrawal of the PSIH's delegation of authority, in full or in part, until the issues are resolved. Potential withdrawal of a delegation of authority would only apply in those cases where the PSIH is a crown body that operates under a delegation of authority from the controller of HMSO.

Public Sector Information

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to ensure public sector information holders offer the same terms and conditions to external licensees as those applied to their own products and services.

Harriet Harman: The Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations (S.I. 2005 No. 1515) specifically state that any public sector information wishing to re-use information that it produces outside its public task should be subject to the same conditions as any other re-user. The Office of Public Sector Information monitors this aspect under the Information Fair Trader scheme and also if any formal complaints are made under the regulations.

Public Sector Information

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make more stringent the requirements on public sector information holders regarding the reasons which may be given for  (a) refusing a licence and  (b) changing licence terms.

Harriet Harman: The Regulations on the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations (S.I. 2005No. 1515) allow public sector information holders to refuse a request for re-use. In doing so it is consistent with the European directive on the re-use of public sector information which the UK Regulations implement. The directive is consistent with the provisions of all international agreements on the protection of intellectual property rights and one of the effects of this is that public sector rights holders have the same right to refuse to allow the re-use of their copyright material as any other copyright holder. This is subject, however, to such decisions being made on a non-discriminatory basis.
	Under the Information Fair Trader scheme (IFTS) The Office of Public Sector Information reviews the reasons for refusing to allow re-use as part of the IFTS verification process to ensure consistency and fairness of application.

Buncefield Oil Disaster

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures have been taken since the Buncefield disaster to ensure that local fire services are properly equipped to deal with the potential health and safety threats posed by those control of major accident hazard sites located within the area of their service coverage; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Measures taken to deal with the potential threats posed by Control of Major Accident Hazard sites (COMAH) form part of the Local Authority Emergency Planning arrangements. The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Coastal Towns

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what action her Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) is planning to undertake to improve the (i) economic competitiveness and (ii) quality of life for residents of coastal towns.

Phil Woolas: The Department recognises that coastal towns have a distinctive role to play in sub-regional and regional economies. It supports efforts by the regional development agencies to ensure that coastal areas in their regions are helped to achieve their full economic potential, as part of wider strategies to deliver sustainable growth.
	The Department's Memorandum to the Select Committee inquiry on Coastal Towns in March 2006 sets out the significant Government funding and support, much of it through Communities and Local Government programmes, which are focused on the areas of greatest need, including some coastal towns. They include the new deal for Communities, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, and Local Enterprise Growth Initiative.
	(http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmodpm/1023/1023we72.htm)
	On 16 May 2006, the Department held a summit for coastal towns and cities to discuss their vision for the future and how central Government could help them deliver their priorities. Key issues to emerge focused on transport and connectivity, skills/employment and affordable housing.
	This summit, along with other city summits held around the country have helped inform proposals in the Local Government White Paper "Strong and Prosperous Communities", launched in November 2006. This offers a stronger role for local partnerships, giving local authorities more scope to lead their communities and to better address local needs and opportunities reflecting what is important locally which can vary significantly between places, including coastal towns.
	Local authorities are already under a duty to prepare a Sustainable Community Strategy which sets the strategic vision for an area. We are building on the successful pilots of local area agreements—the delivery plan for the strategy—which will now be available to all local authorities. We want to encourage multi-area agreements—where there is interest locally—which will extend this approach to those strategic issues which are best tackled across local authority boundaries. We will continue to work closely with these local authorities—whether in coastal towns or elsewhere—to help promote their further economic and social development.
	In the White Paper, we announced our intention to promote the concept of City Development Companies for English cities and city-regions, in particular their role in attracting private investment and driving economic development and regeneration. We are currently running a consultation on this, which should be of interest to all towns and cities.
	Together with the DTI and Treasury we will be considering further through the Treasury review of sub-national economic development how Government can best devolve more powers and resources to regions, towns and cities, including those in coastal areas.

Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which external consultants were used by  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the nature and cost of the work was in each case.

Angela Smith: Details of external consultants used by the Department for Communities and Local Government in relation to Private Finance Initiatives in 2005-06 including the nature and cost of work is shown in the following table. With regard to the Department's agencies, there was no use of external consultants in connection with Private Finance Initiatives in 2005-06.
	
		
			  Consultancy  Nature of work  Costs of work (£) 
			 Partnerships UK Development of Financial Appraisal model for use with Housing PFI projects 25,000 
			 Robson Rhodes Audit of the Housing PFI Financial Model 5,000 
			 Partnerships UK Support for DCLG in respect of the financial collapse of Jarvis in relation to the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue PFI project 10,000 
			 PA Consulting Evaluation of Housing PFI programme 51,628

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the amber and red annual review reports to which she refers on page 55 of her Department's annual report for 2006.

Phil Woolas: Across 88 areas receiving Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) in 2004-05, the following 16 local strategic partnerships (LSPs) were assessed as 'amber/red' for their performance in that year:
	Allerdale
	Ashfield
	Barking and Dagenham
	Birmingham
	Burnley
	Ealing
	Hackney
	Kingston-Upon-Hull
	Lambeth
	Leicester
	Lincoln
	Luton
	Nottingham
	Plymouth
	Sandwell
	Sedgefield
	Of these, nine improved sufficiently to be assessed as "amber/green" for their performance in 2005-06.
	No LSPs receiving NRF were assessed as "red" for their performance in either 2004-05 or 2005-06.

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the purpose of the regional policy budget referred to on Table B9 of her Department's annual report 2006, page 108 is; and how much of such funding was spent on administration.

Phil Woolas: The regional policy line within table B9 of the 2006 annual report from the Department for Communities and Local Government comprises the sum of a number of expenditure programmes. It does not include any departmental administration costs.
	The largest component of the total for 2004-05 (£1,179 million of £1,799.5 million) was the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's contribution to the work of the English regional development agencies, which was paid via the Department for Trade and Industry.
	Other significant items were expenditure by English Partnerships (the Urban Regeneration Agency and the Commission for New Towns) and grant payments, other than to local authorities, under the European Regional Development Fund. English Partnerships and each regional development agency have published their own accounts for 2004-05 which set out how they spent their money, including how much was spent on administration. Copies of these accounts are in the Library of the House and are usually posted on the relevant organisation's websites.

Departmental Grants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what projects were funded under her departmental budget line Development of English Regions; and what proportion of such funding was spent on administration.

Phil Woolas: Table B1 of the 2006 Annual Report from the Department for Communities and Local Government sets out the Department's resource and capital spending.
	The budget line "Development of English Regions" under each of these principally records ODPM's contribution to the work of (i) the English regional development agencies (in 2004-05 £758.1 million capital, £420.7 million resource); (ii) the London development agency (in 2004-05 £170 million capital, £106.9 million resource); and (iii) the voluntary regional assemblies (in 2004-05 £14.1 million resource).
	The specific activities and expenditure to which these amounts relate are detailed in the accounts of the bodies concerned. They contributed to the Department's Public Service Agreement 2 target to
	"make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of all English regions by 2008 and over the long term reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the regions, demonstrating progress by 2006".

Energy Efficiency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to include within building regulations a requirement that all new public buildings should be designed to include measures for energy-saving and energy-producing; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Such requirements are already in place. Theenergy efficiency provisions in the Building Regulations apply whenever new buildings, including new public buildings, are constructed. Without prescribing solutions, the regulations set standards for energy performance in a way that enables builders to take into account the benefits of renewable and on-site energy generating systems, thus encouraging their take-up.

Funding: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio between central government funding and council tax revenue for Tamworth borough council was in each of the last eight years.

Phil Woolas: The ratio between central Government grant and council tax revenue for Tamworth borough council in each of the last eight years is in the following table.
	
		
			   Ratio between central Government grant and council tax revenue for Tamworth borough council 
			 1999-2000 2.6 
			 2000-01 2.5 
			 2001-02 2.4 
			 2002-03 2.3 
			 2003-04 2.6 
			 2004-05 2.2 
			 2005-06 2.4 
			 2006-07 2.4 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns from 1999-00 to 2005-06 and Revenue Account (RA) budget returns for 2006-07. 
		
	
	Government grant is defined here as the sum of specific grants inside aggregate external finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services) and formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant).
	Council tax revenue is defined here as the local authority council tax requirement (i.e. the council tax used to finance revenue expenditure), not council tax collected.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid dueto changing local authority responsibilities. The information provided excludes capital funding and funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities. The information also excludes those grant programmes, such as European funding, where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

House Price Tax

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has estimated the average House Price Tax payment which would apply per property for people living in Altrincham and Sale West, if the scheme being piloted in Northern Ireland were introduced in England.

Phil Woolas: No.

Local Governance Reform

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to what Parliamentary procedure she expects the Orders by which the Secretary of State may introduce local government restructuring to be subject.

Phil Woolas: The Local Government and Involvement in Public Health Bill provides that Orders creating new unitary authorities will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what population figure is used to calculate the local government settlement grant for the London borough of Croydon.

Phil Woolas: The Office for National Statistics' 2003-based sub-national population projections are used as the key source of population in the final 2006-07 and provisional 2007-08 local government finance settlements.
	For the 2007-08 settlement, the projected populations for 2007 used for Croydon are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Age group  Projected population for 2007 for Croydon 
			 All ages (total) 342,716 
			 0-17 79,343 
			 13-19 30,340 
			 18-64 220,246 
			 65 and over 43,127 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	In addition, the mid-2004 estimates of population data are the source of population data in other indicators used in the top-up elements of the relative needs formula.
	Detailed definitions of the data used and the data indicators are available on the local government finance website, at the following address:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0708/grant.htm

Local Government Finance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Tamworth borough council received from central Government in cash terms in each of the last six years.

Phil Woolas: The central Government grant received by Tamworth borough council expressed in cash terms in each of the past six years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Cash terms (£000) 
			 2000-01 4,738 
			 2001-02 4,973 
			 2002-03 5,135 
			 2003-04 6,137 
			 2004-05 5,623 
			 2005-06 6,523 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns 
		
	
	Government grant is defined here as the sum of specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services) and formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant).
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities. The information provided excludes capital funding and funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities. The information also excludes those grant programmes, such as European funding, where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Local Government Funding: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage increase in local government settlement  (a) above and  (b) below inflation was awarded to each local authority in Cumbria for 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the provisional percentage increase in formula grant, which comprises redistributed business rates and Revenue Support Grant, for all authorities in Cumbria on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function.
	
		
			  Local authority  Adjusted 2007-08 formula 2006-07 grant (£ million)  2007-08 formula grant (£ million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage change 
			 Allerdale 9.530 10.372 0.842 8.8 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 8.252 8.673 0.421 5.1 
			 Carlisle 9.596 10.111 0.515 5.4 
			 Copeland 6.718 7.029 0.311 4.6 
			 Eden 4.172 4.426 0.255 6.1 
			 South Lakeland 6.548 6.725 0.177 2.7 
			 Cumbria 105.446 111.186 5.740 5.4 
		
	
	The latest GDP deflator, the only measure of inflation that is forecast in advance, for 2007-08 is2.7 per cent. We a proposing that every local authority that provides education and social services, as well as every shire district, would receive at least a 2.7 per cent. increase in formula grant on a like-for-like basis for 2007-08.
	Final figures will be available in due course, following a debate in the House.

Ordnance Survey

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of Ordnance Survey's turnover in the year ending31 March 2005, excluding the National Interest Mapping Services Agreement, came from licensing its products and services to local and central government agencies and other public bodies.

Angela Smith: For the year ended 31 March 2005, 47 per cent. of Ordnance Survey's turnover, excluding the National Interest Mapping Services Agreement came from the direct licensing of products and services to local and central government agencies and other public bodies.

Ordnance Survey

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Ordnance Survey has spent on legal fees in the lasttwo years.

Angela Smith: The most recent years for which complete information is available are those ending31 March 2005 and 31 March 2006. In those years expenditure on external legal fees was £506,000 and £556,000 respectively.

Parliamentary Questions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will answer question 109786 on departmental energy use, tabled by the hon. Member for Wealden on12 December 2006.

Angela Smith: The hon. Member for Wealden's question was answered on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 377W.

Places Database

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) purpose,  (b) function and  (c) budget of the new Places database is.

Phil Woolas: 'Places' has been developed as the central warehouse for all place-related data held by Communities and Local Government. It is available on the department's intranet and its purpose is to enable staff to easily access a comprehensive range of information across regions, local authorities, wards and more local areas.
	The Places database performs a number of functions including:
	acting as a key statistical analysis and management information tool in support of the departmental policy and decision making processes;
	contributing to more efficient management of departmental data and IT resources; and,
	providing a local area database capable of adapting to the changing needs of the department without the need for significant redevelopment.
	The Places database cost £675,000 (excl. VAT) to develop and has part-year maintenance costs for 2006-07 of up to £168,000 (excl. VAT). It will achieve efficiency gains through consolidating several existing separately maintained databases and through staff spending less time on collating data from a wide variety of source.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether thedata provided to the Valuation Office Agency by Rightmove.co.uk includes the provision of photographs of properties.

Phil Woolas: Rightmove.co.uk plc does not provide data to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) but makes information accessible to VOA staff through a web link. This information includes photographs of properties, but such photographs are only for viewing and are not copied by the VOA.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model uses Computer Mass Assisted Appraisal techniques or technology.

Phil Woolas: Yes.

Bermuda

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will take steps to eliminate discrimination in recruitment, training, promotion and other practices in the Royal Bermuda Regiment; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Bermuda Regiment is established under the Bermuda Defence Act and is therefore governed by local Bermuda legislation. Any amendment would have to be at the request of the Government of Bermuda.
	Recruitment, training and promotion in the Bermuda Regiment is managed fairly, according to the law and regulations in force in Bermuda.

Burma

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to build support for a new UN Security Council resolution on Burma among EU member states.

Ian McCartney: We are working with the United States and members of the Security Council to build support for a UN Security Council Resolution on Burma. All five European member states currently on the UN Security Council have indicated their support for a Resolution. However the Resolution was not adopted, as two permanent members of the Security Council—China and Russia—voted against, as did South Africa.

East Asia: Proliferation Security Initiative

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which nations in East Asia are contributing to the operations of the Proliferation Security initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Japan and Mongolia both participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative and have endorsed its Statement of Interdiction Principles.

EU Committees

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many committees work for the EU institutions, broken down by  (a) expert groups advising the European Commission on policy formation,  (b) Council working groups,  (c) COMITOLOGY committees,  (d) committees working for the European Court of Justice,  (e) standing committees in the European Parliament and  (f) other committees.

Geoff Hoon: Expert groups are set up by the Commission, mainly on an informal basis, to provide it with independent advice. Membership is entirely for the Commission to decide but is generally drawn from academia, industry, trade unions and consumer groups. The composition, size and frequency of meetings of the groups vary enormously. The Commission's database lists 1,237 such groups. Their responsibilities cover policy development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation phases. The Commission does not specify how many of the groups are dedicated to policy formation only.
	Approximately 250 working parties and committees. These prepare for meetings of the council including all aspects of EU policy and legislation.
	There are 250 comitology committees.
	There are no committees working for the European Court of Justice.
	20 permanent committees and 6 temporary committees in the European Parliament.
	We are not aware of any centrally held figures for committees outside of the categories listed.

Extremist Political Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how the Government is helping new EU member states to tackle far-right political extremism;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the impact of extremist parties in  (a) the European Parliament and  (b) the new EU member states.

Geoff Hoon: The Government oppose extremism in all its forms. It remains to be seen what effect this group will have on European parliamentary decision-making given that it contains only 20 out of a total of 785 Members of the European Parliament.
	The EU is founded on the principles set out in Article 6 of the Treaty on EU. These include respect for fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The UK is continuing to support political and economic development in the new member states including through participation in the Commission funded twinning programme which includes supporting the development of state institutions.

India and Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations  (a) the UK Government and  (b) the European Union has made to the Government of India concerning their sale of military equipment and provision of military training to the Burma army.

Ian McCartney: Our high commission in New Delhi has raised our concerns regarding the provision of military equipment and training to the Burmese army with the Indian Government. The EU has not made any specific representations regarding this issue.
	The UK and EU have an ongoing dialogue with the Indian Government about their policy towards Burma and have highlighted international concern about human rights and the lack of democracy there.
	In my discussions with the Indian Deputy Foreign Minister in the margins of the Human Rights Council on 20 June 2006, I asked the Government of Indiato use their influence to encourage the Burmese Government to respect human rights and bring about political change. I also raised the human rights situation in Burma when I met the Indian Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi on 27 November 2006.

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications for the UK of the European Court Judgement of 12 December 2003 to annul the Council's decision to freeze the funds of the People's Mojahedin of Iran; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: On 12 December 2006, the Court of First Instance (CFI) of the European Community annulled the Council of the European Union's decision to add the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK, also known as l'Organisation des Moudjahiddines du peuple iranien or People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran) to its list of terrorist organisations subject to an EU-wide asset freeze.
	The specific Council Decision of December 2005 annulled by the Court has been replaced by a subsequent Council Decision of May 2006. The EU-wide asset freeze against MeK is therefore still in force. The EU keeps all its terrorist asset freezing decisions under regular review.
	The assets of this group are also frozen under UK domestic law. This is not affected by the CFI judgement, which is a technical decision on EU procedures. The Court did not rule on the substantive question as to whether the MeK is a terrorist group.

Iraq Study Group

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the UK Government was invited to make a submission to the Iraq Study Group in the United States; what form of submission was requested; and when it was supplied.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 23 November 2006,  Official Report, column 247W, and the answers I gave him on 9 January 2007,  Official Report, column 501W.

Pakistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether discussions have been held with other European governments on co-operation with Pakistan in the field of civilian nuclear energy; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Discussion at EU working group level has covered the whole range of Pakistan's nuclear activities, including the obstacles currently preventing EU governments from entering into co-operation on civil nuclear energy. We have also held exchanges with Pakistan on enhancing export controls.

Singapore

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the right to freedom of speech and expression in Singapore.

Margaret Beckett: Singapore's constitution provides for freedom of speech, assembly and associationfor Singaporean citizens. However, it also allows Singapore's Parliament to impose by law such restrictions as it sees fit to protect national security, friendly relations with other countries, public order and morality, the protection of parliamentary privilege and laws concerning contempt of court, defamation or incitement to any offence.
	The Public Entertainment and Meetings Act requires a permit for public speech or entertainment, although its rules have been relaxed to allow some indoor speaking events to be exempted. By law, police permission is required for public assemblies of five or more persons. Most associations, societies, clubs, religious groups and other organisations with more than 10 members are required to register with the Government under the Societies Act and the Government can deny registration to groups that it believes are likely to have been formed for unlawful purposes.
	Defamation cases can be brought and have been used by the Singapore Government. The Films Act forbids political advertising using films or videos and also prohibits films deemed to have political goals. Political and religious websites must be registered and may be subject to restrictions e.g. during elections. The Sedition Act has been used to prosecute racist comments made online. New laws to criminalise comments deemed to be harmful to racial and religious harmony are currently being discussed.

Singapore

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of Singapore on the application of freedom of speech, association and assembly in Singapore.

Margaret Beckett: The Singapore Government is well aware of our views, and that of our EU partners, on these issues. Most recently we raised our concerns to the Singaporean Government, through our high commission in Singapore, regarding access for accredited non-governmental organisations to the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual Meetings held in Singapore in September 2006.

Singapore

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the use of the death penalty in Singapore; and what representations she has made to the Government of Singapore on the use of the death penalty.

Margaret Beckett: The UK is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We believe that the abolition of the death penalty is essential for the protection of human rights under Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Singapore Government continues to use the death penalty, though the number of executions in recent years has been much lower than in the past. There is little public opposition in Singapore to use of the death penalty.
	The Singapore Government is well aware of our views. Our high commissioner in Singapore raised the issue most recently in December 2006 with the Singapore Deputy Prime Minster, who is also Minister for Law.

Somalia

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the  (a) political and  (b) security situation in Somalia.

Margaret Beckett: After years of lawlessness and little effective government, a historic opportunity now exists for a sustainable political solution to Somalia's difficulties. We fully support the Transitional Federal Institutions in their efforts to find a lasting and inclusive political settlement and to become an effective governing authority. The Transitional Federal Charter sets out a roadmap for constitutional process and transition to a democratically elected government. This is the framework within which the Transitional government should pursue a political process in Mogadishu.
	The security situation is still confused and volatile. At the moment no British officials can travel to Somalia. But we hope the Transitional Federal Government and the Transitional Federal Institutions will be able to move from Baidoa to Mogadishu shortly. We are working with Somalia's Transitional Federal Institutions, and our international partners, to help stabilise Somalia through the early deployment of a regional security force, restore governance through an inclusive political process, and rebuild Somalia through increased international assistance.

United Arab Emirates

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the first round of talks between the UK and the United Arab Emirates on regional security will take place; how often such meetings will be held; at which ministerial level the UK will be represented; and whether any other countries will be involved.

Margaret Beckett: Exchanges with our partners in the United Arab Emirates on regional security have long been an important element of our dialogue, at both ministerial and official level. But in view of the importance of our relationship with them, we have decided to put even more resource into this element and will now be holding regular, dedicated talks on the subject. At this stage we are yet to decide on which Minister will attend the talks, but hope to hold the first round in March/April in Abu Dhabi.

United Arab Emirates

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government intend to hold talks on regional security with countries in the Gulf in addition to those to be held with the United Arab Emirates.

Margaret Beckett: Exchanges on regional security are an integral part of our dialogue with all of our partners in the region. We naturally envisage that such exchanges will continue. Equally, naturally their precise format may vary according to the circumstances of the day and the partner concerned.
	NATO, of which the UK is a member, offers individual co-operation to Gulf states under their Istanbul Co-operation Initiative. The UK will, with effect from 11 February 2007, be acting as NATO's contact point through our embassy in Bahrain for the period 2007-09.

United States: Secret Prisons

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the UK Government was informed that the United States was operating a secret prison programme; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: In his speech of 6 September 2006, President Bush acknowledged the existence of a detention programme operated by the CIA.
	Prior to this speech, we were aware of the existence of a secret US detention programme only in general terms.
	In 2005 the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) reported that the agencies had told them: "Clearly the US is holding some Al Qaida members in detention, other than at Guantanamo, but we do not know the location or terms of their detention and do not have access to them". These comments were published in the ISC's report "The Handling of Detainees by UK Intelligence Personnel in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq" of March 2005.

Airline Passenger Duty

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what preparatory work his Department undertook to assess the effects of the increase in passenger duty announced in the pre-Budget report on  (a) airlines and  (b) passengers.

John Healey: The air passenger duty rate change was made taking into account environmental, social and economic impacts.
	The Chancellor's 2006 pre-Budget report announced that increases to air passenger duty would deliver carbon savings of 0.3MtC a year by 2010-11. When the effect of non-carbon dioxide emissions are taken into account this has a climate change impact equivalent to saving around 0.75MtC per year by 2010-11.

Airline Passenger Duty

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will refuse to pay additional amounts of air passenger duty at airports after 1 February if required to do so by airlines for tickets booked before that date.

John Healey: As has been the case since the air passenger duty was introduced in 1994, air carriers(i.e. scheduled airlines and other air transport operators) are responsible for ensuring they pay the correct amount of duty to HM Revenue and Customs. How, or whether, they choose to pass that cost on to their customers is a matter for them.

Airline Passenger Duty

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will pay the higher rates of air passenger duty announced in the pre-Budget report in the12 months after 1 February.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs' econometric analysis suggests that between 1 February 2007 and 1 February 2008 a projected 115 million passengers eligible for air passenger duty will fly from the UK.

Carousel Fraud

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what extra resources have been allocated to HM Revenue and Customs to deal exclusively with carousel fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: Approximately 1,000 extra staff were allocated to HM Revenue and Customs as part of the overall VAT Compliance Strategy (VCS) in 2002-03 which included VAT Missing Trade Intra-Community Fraud as one of its priorities.
	However, HMRC applies a risk based approach to the deployment of its existing resources and has responded to the increased threat of MTIC fraud during the past year. A total of 1,500 staff are now engaged in countering MTIC fraud across the Department following an additional redeployment of 700 compliance staff since Budget 2006.

Carousel Fraud

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are taken by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure innocent companies are not unduly affected by lengthy investigations into carousel fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: H M Revenue and Customs' response to the increased threat from MTIC fraud has been proportionate, targeted and risk-based. In response to the rapid increase in MTIC activity last year, H M Revenue and Customs are actively checking a greater number of claims but as soon as they are satisfied that even part of a claim is properly payable, it is immediately repaid. The traders whose claims are subject to this extended verification represent a tiny proportion of over 1.9 million VAT-registered traders and the money withheld a fraction of the £50 to £55 billion that is repaid every year. H M Revenue and Customs recognises the importance of VAT repayments to legitimate businesses and have therefore deployed additional resources to ensure that verification of these claims can be carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Carousel Fraud

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many companies were subject to investigations into carousel fraud in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many prosecutions for carousel fraud were initiated in the last 12 months;
	(3)  how many carousel fraud prosecutions were completed in the last 12 months.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many prosecutions for carousel fraud there have been in each of the last five years for which records are available;
	(2)  how many of the defendants in cases of carousel fraud were known to be part of organised crime gangs in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Details of the investigations and prosecutions conducted each year by HM Revenue and Customs are published in the departmental annual report and, prior to the creation of HM Revenue and Customs, was published each year in the annual reports of both the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise. Copies of the annual reports are available in the Library of the House. Where the specific information requested is not published, it is not collated in that format.

Child Trust Fund

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) administration,  (b) consultancy and  (c) IT costs were incurred in each year since 2002-03 in relation to the Child Trust Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: Costs for the Child Trust Fund are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Administration  Consultancy( 1)  IT costs  Total 
			 2002-03 0 0 0 0 
			 2003-04 1.9 0.4 3.6 6 
			 2004-05 14 1.4 37.1 52 
			 2005-06 19.3 1.4 16.7 37 
			 2006-07 (estimate) 14.9 0 9.8 25 
			 (1)Consultancy costs refers to IT consultancy to oversee the IT development of the CTF.

Child Trust Fund

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid out by the Child Trust Fund through accounts opened by  (a) individuals and  (b) the Government in each three month period since records began; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The figures for the payments made by the Government on the opening of Child Trust Fund accounts, split by those accounts opened by parents and those opened by HM Revenue and Customs, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Initial Government payments to accounts opened by parents  Initial Government payments to accounts opened by HMRC  Additional Government payments to children in lower income families and all payments to looked after children 
			 April -June 05 168 0 0 
			 July -Sept 05 89 Neg 27 
			 Oct - Dec 05 71 Neg 13 
			 Jan -Mar 06 78 27 10 
			 April- June 06 34 71 96 
			 July -Sept 06 33 19 23 
			 Oct - Dec 06 33 13 14 
		
	
	The bulk of accounts opened by HM Revenue and Customs started in early 2006 when the first vouchers issued began to expire. However, there were a very small amount of accounts opened previous to this for looked after children and under age parents.
	The figures for additional payments to children from lower income families cannot be broken down into those paid into accounts opened by parents and those opened by HM Revenue and Customs as this information is not necessary for the purposes of HM Revenue and Customs business and is therefore not held.

Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to letters from the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire of19 June, 31 August, 20 September and 13 December 2006 about Nicola Maxfield, a constituent of the right hon. Member.

Dawn Primarolo: As I outlined in my letter of 18 October 2006 to the right hon. Member, this issue is being considered and I hope to be in a position to respond shortly.

GDP Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of gross domestic product was recorded in the nomenclature of units for territorial statistics area most closely corresponding to  (a) Peterborough city council area and  (b) Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 18 January 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on gross domestic product (GDP) for the nomenclature of units for territorial statistics (NUTS) area most closely corresponding to a) Peterborough City Council area and b) Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years. I am replying in her absence. (115579)
	Peterborough is the NUTS level 3 region which most closely corresponds to the Peterborough City Council and Peterborough constituency areas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not publish regional GDP but does publish estimates of regional gross value added (GVA) for the NUTS3 areas, for the period 1995 to 2004. Estimates of NUTS3 GVA, including data for Peterborough, were published in December 2006. The estimates for GVA for Peterborough for the last five years are given in the attached table.
	
		
			   Gross value added( 1)  for Peterborough (£ million) 
			 2000 2,405 
			 2001 2,525 
			 2002 2,706 
			 2003 2,942 
			 2004 3,175 
			 (1) Gross value added (GVA) is gross domestic product (GDP) less toes (plus subsidies) on products.

Mental Health

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on  (a) the progress to date and  (b) the timetable for completion of the crosscutting review of mental health and employment outcomes in relation to the comprehensive spending review.

Stephen Timms: The cross-cutting review of mental health and employment outcomes was announced in Budget 2006. It is expected to report as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Public Sector Employees

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1223-24W, on public sector employees, what the corresponding data was for the given years for the percentage of population  (a) in private sector employment and  (b) on benefits not in long-term employment.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 18 January 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the proportions of the population in private sector employment and on benefits. I am replying in her absence. (115920)
	The available estimates for private sector employment, which are based on annual averages of quarterly estimates and the appropriate mid-year population estimates, are shown in the attached table. As these estimates are partly based on sample surveys, they are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	Estimates of the numbers on benefits not in employment are not available.
	
		
			  Private sector employment as a percentage of resident population by region, 1999 and 2005 
			  Government office region  1999  2005 
			
			 North East 30.7 32.8 
			 North West 36.0 36.6 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 35.9 37.2 
			 East Midlands 37.6 38.3 
			 West Midlands 37.8 37.5 
			 East 37.5 37.8 
			 London 43.5 42.4 
			 South East 40.0 40.7 
			 South West 39.4 39.2 
			 Wales 31.5 33.9 
			 Scotland 34.7 37.0 
			 Northern Ireland 29.2 30.5 
			 United Kingdom 37.4 38.0 
			  Note:  Regional estimates of private sector employment are derived as the difference between total employment according to the Labour Force Survey and corresponding regional estimates of public sector employment which are based on returns from public sector organisations, combined with approximate breakdowns from the Labour Force Survey for Wales and the English regions.  Sources:  Labour Force Survey, returns from public sector organisations (ONS, Scottish Executive and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for Northern Ireland)

Reviews

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many members of staff in his Department worked in the Cooksey Review team as at 5 December 2006; and what the pay band was of each staff member;
	(2)  how many members of staff in his Department were working on the Stern Review team as at29 October 2006; and what the pay band was of each such staff member;
	(3)  how many members of staff in his Department were working on the Eddington Review as at30 November 2006, broken down by pay band;
	(4)  how many members of staff in his Department were working on the Lyons Review  (a) in 2006 and  (b) as at 5 January 2007, broken down by pay band;
	(5)  how many members of staff in his Department were working in the Davidson Review team as at 27November 2006, broken down by pay band;
	(6)  how many members of staff in his Department were working in the Sainsbury Review team as at5 January 2007, broken down by pay band;
	(7)  how many members of staff in his Department were working in the Leitch Review team as at4 December 2006, broken down by pay band;
	(8)  how many members of staff in his Department were working in the Barker Review team at 4 December 2006, broken down by pay band;
	(9)  how many members of staff in his Department were working in the team supporting James Crosby in his public-private forum on identity management as at 5 January 2007, broken down by pay band.

John Healey: Treasury staff provide administrative and analytical support as necessary to independent review and inquiry teams established by the Chancellor.
	The number of Treasury officials working on each review is given in the table.
	
		
			  Reviews  Staff 
			 Barker Review 4 December 2006 1 Range E (1.0 FTE) 
			  4 Range D (3.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range C (0.6 FTE) 
			   
			 Leitch Review 4 December 2006 3 Range E (3.0 FTE) 
			  3 Range D (2.2 FTE) 
			  1 Range C( 1.0 FTE) 
			   
			 Sainsbury Review 5 January 2007 1 Range E (1.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range D (1.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range C (1.0 FTE) 
			   
			 Davidson Review 27 November 2006 1 Range F (1.0 FTE) 
			 Lyons Review total number of Treasury staff working on the review during 2006. 3 Range E (2.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range C (1.0 FTE) 
			  2 Range B(1.4 FTE) 
			   
			 Lyons Review 5 January 2007 2 Range E (2.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range C (1.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range B (0.4 FTE) 
			   
			 Eddington Study 30 November 2006 1 Range F (1.0 FTE) 
			  2 Range E (2.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range D (1.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range B (1.0 FTE) 
			   
			 Stern Review 29 October 2006 1 Range B (0.5 FTE) 
			  1 Range C (0.5 FTE) 
			  3 Range D(1.5 FTE) 
			  7 Range E (3.5 FTE) 
			  4 Range F (2.0 FTE) 
			   
			 Cooksey Review 5 December 2006 3 Range E (2.8 FTE) 
			 James Crosby Review : Public-private forum 5 January 2007 1 Range E (1.0 FTE) 
			  1 Range B (1.0 FTE) 
			 FTE = Full-time equivalent.

Tax Allowances

Mark Hunter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged over  (a) 65 and  (b) 75 years (i) have their income tax personal allowances reduced because of the income limit for the age-related allowance and (ii) are affected by similar reductions in the married couples' income tax allowance.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 2006-07 are provided in the following tables.
	
		
			  Numbers (000) 
			  Age  Number of taxpayers who have their personal allowance tapered 
			 65 to 74-year-olds 736 
			 75-years-old and over 449 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers (000) 
			  Age  Number of taxpayers who have had their married couples allowance (MCA) tapered 
			 65 to 74-year-olds 71 
			 75-years-old and over 137 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates from the Survey of Personal Incomes 2003-04, projected forward to 2006-07 in line with December 2006 pre-Budget report assumptions.  2. MCA is a tax relief restricted to 10 per cent. and is available where either partner of a married couple or civil partnership was born before 6 April 1935.  3. In 2006-07 the aged personal allowances are £7,280 and £7,420 for 65 to 74-year-olds and 75-years-old and over respectively. The rates for MCA are £6,065 and £6,135 for 65 to 74-year-olds and 75-years-old and over respectively. The aged income limit is £20,100 and the minimum MCA is £2,350.  4. Figures do not include around 20,000 individuals for whom it is not possible to identify whether they have had their MCA tapered or their husband or civil partner has transferred to them the remainder of their MCA.  5. Aged personal allowances are tapered at the rate of £1 for every £2 of income above the aged income limit, to the level of the ordinary personal allowance (£5,035 in 2006-07).  6. For those entitled to MCA, it also is tapered at the rate of £1 for every £2 of income above the aged income limit, but only once an individual's personal allowance has been tapered to the level of the ordinary personal allowance. The MCA can only be withdrawn until it reaches the minimum MCA.

Tax Credits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2007 to Question 112990, on tax credits, by what percentage the total amount of compensatory payments in respect of tax credits altered in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information can be found in the following table:
	
		
			   Number  Increase in number of payments made (percentage)  Value (£ million)  Increase in total amount paid (percentage)  Average (around) (£)  Increase in level of average amount paid (percentage) 
			 2003-04 10,800 — 0.370 — 34 — 
			 2004-05 20,000 +85 1.24 +335 62 +82 
			 2005-06 15,249 - 24 1.07 -14 70 +13 
			 2006-07 (to end November) 4,834 n/a 0.415 n/a 85 +21 
			 All percentage increases shown are a comparison with the same figure for the previous year